Hiccup
by OrangeCat64
Summary: Hiccup Haddock works for his father and leads a normal, uneventful life as he tries to get over past betrayals. Then one day he receives a cryptic message from a former friend and his world gets turned upside down as he's dragged into the world of espionage by a mysterious, blond woman. Modern AU.
1. Hiccup Vs The Birthday Party

A/N: I hope you like this modern AU! I'm not always a fan of modern AUs for HTTYD, but this one should be fun and action-packed! I'll stay as true to the characters as I can, like I always do.

This isn't a crossover, but it is inspired by a spy, drama/comedy/action TV show. Those of you who are familiar with it, will likely figure out which show I'm talking about, but those who don't know it, that's fine, you can still read it anyway! Enjoy!

—

Episode 1, Part 1: Hiccup Vs. The Birthday Party

A brilliant red light flashed, illuminating the corridor in a rhythm, making it difficult to see properly. In the distance, a repetitive and obnoxious alarm could be heard screeching to whoever had ears, that there was an intruder.

A black clad, muscular shape emerged from the darkness of a corner, his ponytail swinging behind him. He cautiously walked down the deserted hallway with a cocky grin on his face, seen in flashes of reflected red light.

"Well, looks like she's done it." He said to himself quietly, satisfied with the alarm being triggered. Everything was going according to plan. "Now it's time for the best renegade alive to swoop in and finish the job."

The man walked casually down several hallways, with confidence, knowing the route by heart, and acting as if he had all the time in the world to complete his task. He knew what he was doing and where he was headed, the plan was precise, and he was making good time. The door he was looking for was just ahead, on the left, and he came to a halt just in front of it.

Slipping a hand into one of his many pockets, the man withdrew an ID badge. He ran his thumb across the face of his partner in crime, fondly, before looking to the QR code. For a moment, he was unsure if scanning it would really open the door. His former boss knew he had been close with her before he betrayed them and the whole organization. But now was not the time to falter, so he scanned the code and waited.

For an agonizing second, nothing happened. If the door didn't open, the mission would be a failure. He held his breath as he waited a few more seconds until the light turned green and allowed him entrance into the room.

Spots danced in front of his eyes as he entered, blinded by the sheer brightness of the all-white surfaces, giving the vast room a sterilized and clean feel and contrasting the dim, foreboding hallways. The room had four blank, white walls and an open, white floor space. It was like a blank canvas, waiting for someone to come along and decorate its surfaces with designs and myriads of color. The only thing keeping the room from its white purity was a complicated, high-tech computer, sitting in the middle of the floor like a blemish. It was the reason the traitor was there.

The man took a moment to blink and adjust to the new lighting before racing to the computer. He had seen it before, had been to this room before when he had been a trusted lackey to his formidable boss. He knew exactly what to do.

He drew a hand-held, electronic device from one of his other pockets and fiddled with it as he prepared to commit his act of thievery.

"Here goes nothing..." He took a deep breath and whispered as he inserted one end of the device into the side of the computer. He had never seen it in action and wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

As soon as the device clicked into place, attaching to the impressive computer, images immediately started flashing on the walls around him. Knowing what the computer was meant for, he quickly covered his eyes before he could see any of the images and awaited the electronic _ping_ that would tell him when the download was complete.

The multitude of flashing images stopped, the room resuming its pure brightness, and he was alerted to the completion of his current task. He looked at the computer monitor, "_Download Complete, Files Empty" _could be read in a box in the middle of the glowing screen, the aforementioned files safely stored on his device, and only his device. Mission accomplished. With a satisfied grin the man ran back to the door, the only task left— making his escape.

He was thrown back into the darkness of the dim hallway with the flashing, red lights and had to squint as his eyes adjusted back to the poor lighting. He knew the way well, so pushed forward before his sight completely came back to him.

As he turned a corner in the hallway he felt a sudden, burning flash of pain in his shoulder and heard an echoing _bang_ that resonated through him. He faltered for just a moment, surprised by the unexpected and hostile company. This area had been meant to be cleared, she had assured him no one would be there. Recovering from his momentary shock, he bolted in the opposite direction. He'd have to take an alternate route, hopefully making it to the rendezvous point before he bled out from the new hole in his shoulder.

Still running, and whilst favoring his injured arm, he pressed a few buttons on his electronic device. He had stolen the program and now needed to make sure that it didn't fall back into his former boss' hands. The only way to insure that— sending it in a message to the only person he could think of who could be trusted with such power.

Making use of the dark corners and disorienting red lights, the traitor slipped down hallways and up staircases with the ease of familiarity, losing his sole pursuer along the way. He was supposed to meet up with his partner outside, on the ground level, but the unexpected obstacle had sent him running to the top floor of the building. He would have to improvise.

He headed up a final flight of stairs and out the roof-access door. The blood loss was starting to slow him down and the wound in his shoulder made itself unpleasantly known. He could see the rendezvous point below him from his vantage point, and it gave him a burst of energy at the thought of how close he was to making it. He ran faster along the roof, parkour-ing his way down from the two-story building's roof, using pipes, ledges, and random handholds while ignoring the throbbing from his shoulder.

He finally landed along the blacktop outside the building with a smooth roll, and was back on his feet, ready to keep running to freedom and meet up with his partner. Instead, he came to a quick and sudden halt, eyes wide.

Before him stood a woman. Long, ebony hair braided over one shoulder, green eyes flashing with menace— faltering for the briefest of moments at the sight of the blood already dripping down his clothes. She held a gun pointed at his chest.

"You knew this was how it would end, Eret." She said simply.

"But it still breaks my heart to see you this way." Eret's smile was somewhat regretful, his cockiness barely showing through. The plan wasn't supposed to play out quite like this.

She tilted her head slightly as she gave him the barest hint of a smile at his words. Steeling herself, she squeezed the trigger, following through. A gunshot rang out, echoing off the building.

Eret fell back and landed with a thud, unmoving. In his hand sat the electronic device, screen facing up, five words displayed:

"_Message Successfully Sent to... Hiccup."_

—

"Hiccup! Ah! Hiccup, seriously! Kill him, take out the guy." Snotlout shouted to his cousin before tossing his controller to the carpeted floor in defeat. "Aw... now look what you've done. We just lost the game."

"Sorry... I was trying." Hiccup made a lame attempt at defending himself, clearly not as into it as his cousin.

"You call that trying? It is a digital person, not real. So it is okay to kill him." Snotlout spoke slowly, as if to someone who didn't understand a simple concept. Hiccup and his ridiculously high sense of morality often got on Snotlout's nerves. His cousin just needed to lay back and stop being so high-strung all the time, especially since that incident in college.

"Yes, I know that. I killed several of them." Hiccup said with slight annoyance.

"But you felt guilty about it!" Snotlout gestured with exasperation.

Before Hiccup could reply he heard several people calling for him from the main room of the house and sighed, looking defeated. So much for hiding out in his room with his cousin, who was also his best friend, even if a little obnoxious at times.

"Oooh, I think Ruffnut's coming back here." Snotlout said as he started to smooth out his somewhat long, black hair. "What do you think, should I strike a manly pose or look cool and laid back?"

Hiccup just shook his head with amusement, a slight smile gracing his features. Snotlout and their mutual friend Fishlegs, had both been after the affections of Ruffnut, another friend they had all known since childhood.

The door to Hiccup's room flung open with an excited air and Snotlout puffed out his chest, but instead of the blond and unique girl, a giant man with a red beard entered. Snotlout visibly deflated, frustrated as Stoick, Hiccup's father, came walking in.

"There you are Hiccup! What are you doing hiding in your room with this dummy, when we have a huge birthday celebration out there for you?" Stoick playfully scolded in his booming voice, earning a glare from his nephew.

"I thought it was going to be a small get together with my friends and family, not some huge party with people I don't know!" Hiccup replied anxiously, looking a little freaked out.

"Relax Hiccup, they aren't strangers, they're the kids of people I know. Besides, socializing with people is how you make friends." Stoick tried to be enthusiastic and convincing, but Hiccup gave him a doubtful look.

"Last time I made new friends, it didn't go so well for me..." Hiccup mumbled, looking down.

"I know that..." His father pushed Snotlout out of the way with an uncaring hand to the face and sat on the bed so that he could be closer to Hiccup, who glanced up at him from his place on the floor. "But you have to move on. If you weren't willing to make friends as a kid, you wouldn't have your weird group of friends now."

"I guess..." Hiccup gave in a little as Stoick grabbed his son's arm and pulled him to his feet, effortlessly.

"Then let's get you out there. Gobber and I made sure that we invited some cute girls for you to meet."

"Dad!" Hiccup complained, rolling he eyes at his dad's persistence for him to meet someone and move on with his life.

"Yes!" Snotlout threw a fist into the air in celebration. When Hiccup predictably did horribly with the girls, Snotlout would swoop in and work his magic and maybe even make a certain blond twin jealous for his attention.

"Well look who decided to show up to his own birthday party." A guy with blond dreadlocks questioned, mock disapproval on his face, as the three approached from Hiccup's room.

"Yeah, seriously, why aren't you excited?" Ruffnut asked as she joined her twin in his dramatics. "I so want your dad and Gobber to plan mine and Tuffnut's birthday party."

"What makes you think I want to share my birthday with you, Ruff-nut?" He enunciated each syllable of her name with attitude.

"Ignore the twins. Happy Birthday, Hiccup!" Despite his words, Fishlegs threw Ruffnut a shy smile.

"Thanks, Fishlegs." Hiccup responded to his husky friend.

"Enough chatting with this group of losers." Gobber, a very close family friend, pushed his way forward, putting an arm around Hiccup. "Let's get you out there and introduce you to some girls!"

Gobber dragged a reluctant Hiccup out the already open front door of his home, where the party spilled out onto the cobblestoned, front entrance of a closed community of fancy apartments. He guided Hiccup over to a pretty brunette he knew as one of his employee's daughters. She gave Hiccup a good, obvious look over, making him feel rather self-conscious.

"Tilda, meet the birthday boy! This is Hiccup." Gobber pushed Hiccup in her direction, gave him a wink, and wandered off. Hiccup's eyes followed Gobber as he retreated, with a look that begged for help in his current situation, that he knew wouldn't come. He forced himself to take a deep breath and face the beautiful, young woman. He didn't want to be rude to his guests, even if they were more his father's guests than his.

"So, I finally get to meet the man of the hour. You're cute." Tilda said after a moment of awkward silence, trying to get a conversation going.

"Oh, yeah, I am." After a pause, Hiccup startled, eyes wide as he realized what he had said. "..the man of the hour! That is... what I am... not cute..."

Tilda just gave a little giggle, eyeing him again, amused by his flustered remark. "So Hiccup, tell me about yourself. What do you do?"

"I... uh, work for my dad, at his store." Hiccup was always so embarrassed to admit where he worked, it didn't exactly scream success.

"Oh really? So like a family business?" Tilda didn't think that sounded so bad.

"He owns the local Buy More. I'm head of the Nerd Herd." He confessed awkwardly.

"...Nerd Herd?" She looked a bit less interested now.

"Yeah, I fix people's computers. Not what I wanted to do... but just how it worked out."

"What did you want to do?"

"I was going to be an architect, but..." A faraway look appeared on Hiccup's face and he frowned a little. "I got expelled from the University of Berkeley."

"Well that sounds like an interesting story. A nerd who got expelled from college. What did you do? Cheat for the football players?" She asked conspiratorially, interest returning.

Hiccup's head snapped up, an angered look on his face. "I did not cheat!" The crowd around the two stopped what they were doing and glanced over at a now abashed Hiccup and a startled young woman.

"Sorry." Hiccup apologized quickly, ducking his head down as he rushed past Tilda and around the corner of the house where he climbed in through his open, ground-floor window.

At the front door of the Haddock residence, Stoick and Gobber exchanged a concerned look. That wasn't how they hoped that would go.

"I should go talk to him." Stoick decided.

"Allow me." Snotlout said with confidence from behind the two large men. "He talks to me, we're pretty close."

After a pause, Stoick nodded. The two cousins pretty much grew up together. After Stoick's wife went missing when Hiccup was six, his half-brother Spitelout would help out by taking Hiccup for several hours a day. Now Spitelout lived a couple hours away and Snotlout still lived nearby, also working at Stoick's store, but as a salesmen, not a Nerd. Snotlout could be a jerk, but Hiccup knew him well enough not to take him too seriously. Deep down, Snotlout had a heart, and a decent chance of getting through to Hiccup.

—

"Very smooth, cuz." Snotlout mockingly complimented as he let himself into Hiccup's room. "She was into you and you scared her away."

"I already feel bad, okay? So you can leave." Hiccup rolled his eyes as he took a seat at his computer desk. He just wanted to be alone.

"Look, I know that what happened in college is still painful, but that was two years ago." Snotlout sat on the bed, looking at Hiccup, who refused to meet his eyes. He had tried to get through to Hiccup in the past, but his cousin was fixated in the past and full of regrets. "We're all happy at the Buy More, or as happy as one can be at a retail job... You should just be happy that you get to work with friends and family."

"And Dagur?" Hiccup wasn't quite ready to stop with the cynicism.

"Don't say his name, you might summon him." Snotlout warned in an even tone, although he was mostly joking.

"I wanted something more than working for my dad at an electronics store. I was going to follow my dreams and do what I'm passionate about." Hiccup looked remorseful as he stared at the floor. "But now... I can't."

"You could apply to another college."

"Would they even take me? With my history as a cheater? All because I became friends with that traitorous jerk-!" Hiccup's rising frustration was cut off as a _ding_ rang out from his laptop that was sitting on the paper cluttered desk, to his left. "Speaking of traitorous jerks..."

"What? What is it?" Snotlout stood up and looked over Hiccup's shoulder in curiosity.

"A message from Eret. I guess my ex-friend remembered my birthday."

"Well, aren't you going to read it?"

"Pfft. No. What could it possibly say? 'Sorry I accused you of cheating and got you expelled, but at least I remembered your birthday!'" Hiccup said with his trademark sarcasm.

"Hmmm, I guess. I say you forget about that jerk and join me in another round of shooting people." He suggested as he handed Hiccup a game controller and sat down in front of the decent sized, flat screen TV. "Just pretend that they're all Eret, then you won't feel guilty."

—

After a long and emotionally draining day, all Hiccup wanted was to collapse into bed and sleep. He prepared for bed as if on autopilot, maneuvering around his private bathroom, connected to his room, and then over to the made bed, as per his usual routine.

The party finally ended a couple hours ago and once all the unwanted guests left, Hiccup was able to spend some time with just his family and few close friends, like he wanted to do in the first place. The considerably smaller group were nice enough to not mention what had happened before, and show that they were happy that Hiccup decided to join them for the rest of the evening.

With a sigh, Hiccup walked over to his desk to turn off his laptop before bed, not wanting any blinking lights shining in the dark and keeping him awake. As he brushed a finger against the finger pad, the screen came to life. His attention was immediately turned to the notification in the corner of the screen, reminding Hiccup that he had an unread message.

He had forgotten about Eret's mysterious message. He had been angry at his former friend's audacity to message him on his birthday. Did he want to rub it in Hiccup's face, what had happened, on a day that was supposed to be special? Or maybe act like he had never done anything wrong and wish his old college friend and roommate a happy birthday? Hiccup wasn't sure which would be worse.

His hand hovered over the finger pad as he looked back and forth between the Power Down button and the New Message icon. He chewed his bottom lip, debating internally his two choices. Then, with a hard look on his face, he dragged the cursor over the mail icon and clicked.

A white box appeared in the middle of the screen with a question and a space for typing an answer: _What was the nickname I gave you for being up all hours of the night, studying? _

"What, feeling sentimental all of a sudden, Eret?" Hiccup asked bitterly, unsure what this was about. "Fine, I'll humor you."

He started typing in the answer: _Night Fury_

The laptop went dark, as if it had been shut down, and Hiccup took a step back in surprise. After a moment of nothing happening, the frustration started to settle in. "Getting me expelled wasn't enough for you? You just _had_ to send me a virus on my birthday?!"

Suddenly, his computer screen came to life with a series of images flashing in his face. Hiccup's eyes widened, a blank expression taking over his face as he became hypnotized by what he was seeing. After a few minutes the images stopped and the computer screen went back to normal, seemingly as if nothing had ever happened.

Hiccup swayed on his feet, blinking in confusion, then collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

—

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you stick around to find out what just happened to Hiccup. Did you figure out which spy TV show I was talking about?

While watching the show "Chuck," I found myself seeing parallels between it and HTTYD. It was practically begging to be written as an HTTYD AU! So I finally decided to write a fanfic with the concept and general plot from "Chuck," but with the characters from HTTYD.

The character Chuck reminds me of Hiccup, and Sarah reminds me of Astrid, so it works out well. And isn't Snotlout perfect for the role of Morgan?

I hope fans of both "Chuck" and HTTYD will enjoy all the references to both! And even if you have never seen "Chuck," you should still be able to enjoy this HTTYD Modern AU. Thanks for reading, and I hope you like it!


	2. Hiccup Vs The Phone Number

Episode 1, Part 2: Hiccup Vs. The Phone Number

A deep voice filled with concern pulled Hiccup from the darkness as he struggled to open his eyes, blinking a lot before the ceiling of his room came into focus.

"Hiccup? Are you okay?" Stoick was leaning over his son, whom he had found haphazardly sprawled across the floor.

Hiccup suddenly became aware that he was lying on the carpet, his dad towering over him with an incredibly worried expression on his face.

"What...?" Hiccup didn't even know how he was going to end that sentence, he was just purely confused. He sat up slowly to lean on his elbows, looking around himself with a puzzled expression. Something odd happened last night, but he didn't know what it was.

"Hiccup? Hiccup! Focus. Are you hurt?" Stoick asked while kneeling in front of him, a hand on his son's shoulder.

"No? Uh, no. I don't think so." Hiccup analyzed his own body but didn't feel that anything was out of place or hurting.

"What's wrong, then? Are you sick?" Stoick persisted, having been startled to find his son unconscious and on the floor when he had gone to wake him up for the morning. This had never happened before and Stoick's mind immediately assumed the worst. If Stoick was afraid of anything, it was losing the remainder of his family— his son.

"What? No. I... I must have fallen asleep at my desk and then... fell out of my chair at some point during the night?" Hiccup sat up all the way and arched his back in a stretch. "I honestly don't really remember, but that sounds like something I would do."

"Yes... I guess it does." Stoick hesitated before accepting the explanation, giving a slight chuckle. He hauled himself to his feet and pulled Hiccup along with him. "Didn't look very comfortable."

"It wasn't. Definitely wasn't." Hiccup replied while rolling his neck from side to side in a continuation of his stretches.

"Well, if you would stop staying up half the night drawing pictures you could sleep in your real bed." Stoick's worry and fear instantly turned into annoyance.

"You make it sound so lame. I draw and I design. It's what I like to do. Am I not allowed hobbies?" Hiccup's frustrations were triggered by his father's dismissal of the things he enjoyed, as things usually went.

"There is a time and a place for such things. Just like there is for sleeping." Stoick stated on his way out of his son's room. "Are you going to work today? I'm leaving in 15 minutes!"

Hiccup scowled after the retreating form of his father, feeling as if his dad was always dismissing the creative gifts that were so important to him. Stoick had supported Hiccup going to college, although he would have preferred it if he had majored in business or marketing instead of architecture and art. He had readily accepted him back home and provided him with a job when Hiccup's world came crumbling down that eventful day, two years ago, when Eret accused him of cheating and then provided false proof that he had been doing it all semester.

His professors didn't think Hiccup the type to commit such an act, but the evidence was damning. To this day there were two things that constantly nagged at his mind. What could Eret possibly hope to gain from such an elaborate scheme? And did his own father even believe him when he told him he was innocent? Stoick didn't seem to care either way, he just took it as an opportunity to try to get Hiccup to take up the family business.

Hiccup tried to shake all these thoughts from his mind as he quickly got ready for the day, dressing in his uniform black pants and white, short sleeve, button-up shirt. He quickly brushed his teeth and combed his fingers through his unruly, auburn hair. Then, on his way out of his room, decided on taking some ibuprofen for the pounding headache he just realized he had.

—

"Do you want to drive, or should I?" Stoick asked his son, as they walked toward a nice vehicle, blemished by the words "Nerd Herd" and a logo, along each side.

"You go ahead, just stay off the 5. The cops are in a phased deployment." Hiccup said nonchalantly, as if what he said was common knowledge.

"How do you know that?" Stoick questioned with one eyebrow raised. Hiccup came to an abrupt stop, halfway to the other side of the car, a puzzled look on his face as a flurry of images came to mind.

"How _did_ I know that?" Hiccup said with wonderment in his voice. After another pause he shook his head and glanced over at his father who now had a concerned expression on his face. "I probably heard it on the radio or on the news somewhere. Nothing to worry about."

Stoick examined Hiccup with an intense stare for a moment longer before nodding dismissively and getting into the driver's side of the car. Hiccup, not far behind, got in on the passenger's side, mind whirring with memories of the night before. He had received a cryptic message from Eret... his computer had gone black... then what?

"...distracted today." Hiccup suddenly became aware that his father was speaking to him, "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Fine! Uh... I'm fine." Hiccup scrambled to act like he had been listening the whole time.

"Mmhmm..." Stoick eyed Hiccup, then turned the volume up on the radio. "They're still making a big deal about that foreign leader— Chief Mogadon, was it? He's visiting town for some summit meeting. If you ask me, he should be taking advice from us, not the other way around."

"_... Mogadon is expected to arrive this afternoon." _A woman's voice said in a reporter's tone from the radio.

Hiccup suddenly flinched as the throbbing in his head intensified, unfamiliar images racing through his brain. _Air traffic charts_. _Landing logs. Flight 121. The face of a CIA agent— Codename: Throk._

"That's not true, he already arrived. On a plane last night. They didn't want him ambushed by the media where he would be an easy target to potential threats." Hiccup started speaking robotically. "He was escorted by a CIA agent to a secure location."

"...how?" Stoick began, a look of pure confusion on his face as he pulled into his manager's parking spot seemingly on autopilot, as all of his attention was on his son. Hiccup sat completely still next to his dad, eyes growing wide as he realized what he had just said, what he had seen, what he somehow just knew.

The car was silent as Stoick put the vehicle in park and shut it off. He turned in his seat to look at Hiccup with an analyzing gaze.

"Hiccup... I don't know..." Stoick wasn't even sure what to say. "Where did you hear all of that?"

"...radio...?"

"I was listening to the same thing you were. None of that was mentioned."

"I... it... that... what I mean is..." Hiccup stumbled over his words, "That is what I would do. You know? Tell everyone one thing, plan something else... for safety."

"Are you _sure_ you are okay? I can take you back home. Put in a good word with the boss, get you a couple days off." Stoick said with a wink before his face softened and he took on a gentler tone. "I know yesterday was hard for you. And I apologize for trying to force you to be more social. It's just that... I worry about you. You've spent the last two years dwelling on one bad experience. You avoid people. You're unmotivated. You act as if you are just going through the motions of day-to-day life. You used to have such passion."

"Dad..." Hiccup continued to stare straight ahead, through the windshield. His face gave away nothing about what he was feeling. Stoick wore a look of empathy, ready to hear what his troubled son had to say. "Your employees are waving at us from the door. You need to go let them in."

Stoick startled, glancing out the window to see a mixed group of people in uniform green polos or white button-up shirts, impatiently waiting to be let into the store. Looking back at Hiccup he asked, "Do you want to take the car back home?"

"No thanks. I'm already here." There still wasn't much emotion in his voice.

"Promise me you'll let me know if you aren't feeling well."

"Dad." Hiccup's tone started to become frustrated.

"Promise me." Stoick said firmly. Hiccup unbuckled his seat belt in a flurry, opened the car door, and climbed out. Then he stuck his head back into the car to look at his dad, a serious expression on his face.

"I'm fine. The party yesterday was great. Everything's great. Let's go to work." With that said, he slammed the door shut and walked over to join the other employees.

—

"So what was that all about?" Snotlout asked, following Hiccup around the circular space of the Nerd Herd station in the middle of the store, as he set up the desk for the day.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked as he booted up the computers and organized things around the desk to his preference. Snotlout didn't used to be so nosy, but now he always wanted to know Hiccup's business. Hiccup knew his cousin's intentions were good, but he didn't need people always asking if he was okay or if something was wrong.

"You and uncle Stoick. It looked like you two were arguing." Snotlout pressed, determined to get to the bottom of the situation. Hiccup used to be more open, but had closed himself off more and more since the incident with Eret. Snotlout just wanted things to go back to how they used to be— him and Hiccup, working together, hanging out together, happy.

"We weren't." Hiccup brushed Snotlout off with his simple answer, denying the truth.

Snotlout was about to ask more questions, unsatisfied with Hiccup's insistence on keeping everything to himself instead of talking to his cousin and best friend, like he used to do, when the group of Nerd Herders walked over to the counter.

"So, what's the agenda today boss-man?" Tuffnut asked, leaning casually against the circular, Nerd Herd counter. Hiccup walked over to a chair, sat down, and opened up a chart on the computer, scrolling through it.

"An old woman needs help setting up her new computer..." Hiccup wrote the address down on a form, secured it to a clipboard, and handed it to Fishlegs. "I'll have you handle that one, Fish. Old people like you."

"No problem. Thanks Hiccup!" Fishlegs said as he departed with his task, making sure to give Ruff a wave, causing Snotlout to grimace as the girl of their affections reciprocated the gesture.

"What about the rest of us?" Ruffnut asked, ignoring Snotlout's reaction.

"We don't have anymore call outs scheduled for today. So join the sales crew on the floor and I'll radio you over if I need help at the desk."

"Boring." Tuffnut remarked as he and his twin sister started to walk away.

"Do not cause any trouble!" Hiccup called after them. "Or scare the customers!"

"That's a lost cause dude." Snotlout said lazily, "They're the floor supervisor's problem now anyway."

"That's not how it works." Hiccup turned in his swivel chair to look at Snotlout, who stood behind him. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"We don't open for another five minutes." Snotlout walked around the counter to the opposite side of Hiccup, then leaned against it, arms folded and resting on the flat surface. "Now. What's going on with you and your dad? Is he trying to get you to take an assistant manager position again?"

"No, and besides, we already have an assistant manager." Hiccup resisted the urge to roll his eyes, having thought they had moved past this topic of conversation.

"Who was only hired because you went away to college! It's about time you took your rightful place." Snotlout insisted, always trying to push Hiccup into accepting his place amongst the Buy More staff and as his father's successor in the business world.

"I can't replace Dagur as assistant manager simply because my dad owns the place. That would be nepotism." Hiccup argued back.

"What does an ice cream flavor have to do with this?" Snotlout scrunched up his face in confusion, Hiccup rolling his eyes this time, at his cousin's cluelessness. "If we had a second assistant manager then Dagur wouldn't have to be here all the time! Imagine how fun our shifts would be if you were left in charge! That would be awesome."

"Really? Because I would run a pretty tight ship and I'd make you do all the heavy lifting. Literally. You can go back to stocking." Hiccup's attitude suddenly lightened as he found a way to mess with his cousin.

"Or... I can sit on my butt all day at this desk, and say nonsense into the phone, like you do." Snotlout took the teasing in stride and joined in, their conversation starting to feel more like how they used to interact all the time.

"Oh, you think you are worthy enough to answer this phone? I don't even let Ruff or Tuff touch this thing. Impatient customers call this phone to get assistance with computer related problems. It's where we convince them to hire us to come out and help them. The Nerd Herd would sputter and die if you were in charge of answering it."

"Someone takes this job a little too seriously. How sad, that the most important thing in your life is answering a dumb phone." Snotlout mocked.

"As far as you are concerned, this phone is Mjolnir and you are unworthy to lift it."

"What's mule-near?"

"You know, Thor's hammer?" Hiccup stood up, lifted the phone, and held it high, talking in a deep voice. "Whosoever be worthy may lift Thor's mighty hammer!"

"Ahem." The soft sound startled the two from their dorky banter.

Hiccup jumped, scrambling with the land-line phone until it clattered onto the desk, then looked up at a beautiful, blond woman with bright blue eyes, her hair in a thick braid. She stood at the counter, waiting patiently, amusement in her eyes.

"Oh hey, looks like we're open." Snotlout stated the obvious, too late to be of any help.

"Am I interrupting?" The blond woman asked with a smile.

"That was... just some Norse mythology." Hiccup said dumbly, his cheeks reddening the slightest as he blushed from embarrassment.

" 'Cause that makes it better." She joked with a smirk, still waiting to be helped.

"Sorry! Uh, I'm Hiccup, that's Snotlout." Hiccup introduced, flustered.

"Wow. Quite the names you got there."

"My parents tried to use reverse psychology, hoped I wouldn't live up to my name. Snotlout here was named after his parent's first impressions when they saw his face for the first time." Hiccup replied.

"And I am totally living up to my name." Snotlout rolled with it. The girl looked back and forth between them, enjoying the banter.

"Anyway, how can I help you? Um...?" He gestured helplessly, realizing that he didn't know what to call her.

"Astrid." The blue-eyed beauty introduced herself. "And you can help me by taking a look at my phone."

Hiccup took the phone from her, suddenly all business. The screen was frozen on the menu screen. He tried to open up a few apps, but nothing happened.

"When is the last time you updated this?" Hiccup asked, still looking down at the phone.

"Uh... never? Is that a thing?" She seemed too smart to not know such things, but Hiccup didn't comment on her lack of common knowledge on smartphones. He dealt with a lot of clueless people when it came to simple technology. Simple for him, at least.

"Um, yeah. So every once in a while the company will make an update available to fix bugs and other software issues." Hiccup explained while sitting back down, opening a drawer full of various, carefully organized phone cords, and choosing one. "They can be really annoying, but if you don't update after a while the phone can start getting glitchy. I'll just plug this into my computer and try to load that update for you."

"Will I lose any important data from my phone? I have some photos on there that I don't want to lose." Her concern seemed genuine, and although it was a common question when Hiccup fixed software issues on phones, he felt the need to make her feel better.

"No, but you might notice some changes. I swear these stupid companies like to change the format of their software just so that you get confused. Like the play button for your music being at the top of the screen and then suddenly it's at the bottom."

Astrid gave a soft chuckle. "They must like messing with our minds."

Hiccup glanced up at her, slightly startled as he was reminded of the weird thing going on in his head since he woke up. They met each other's eyes and stared for an intense moment, seeming to make a connection, until the computer made a noise.

Breaking eye contact, Hiccup looked down to see her phone screen go from black to a lit up home screen, no longer frozen. "Looks like it worked." Hiccup unplugged the phone, stood up, and handed it over to Astrid, who started pressing buttons on the screen to test it out.

"Wow, you Nerds are good." She said, giving him a grateful smile.

"Hiccup is like, the Nerd Master. He's the best Nerd I've ever met." Snotlout butted in, having watched the whole exchange and reminding the two of his presence.

"High praise." Astrid again, gave Hiccup a sweet smile. Hiccup blushed, returning her look with a cute half-smile.

"Hiccup! Hiccup!" Their moment was ruined as Tuffnut came racing over, all heads turning in his direction.

"Not now mutton-head!" Snotlout tried to interfere and keep Hiccup and Astrid away from any interruptions, but Tuffnut persisted.

"It's an emergency!" Ruffnut came running up behind her brother, a customer's laptop in hand.

"What? What is it?" Hiccup walked away from Astrid to oversee the situation. The laptop was set in front of him on the counter and the frantic customer started rambling.

"I got this e-mail with a link and I clicked on it and my computer has been going crazy ever since. I can't do anything to stop it!" The customer was freaking out.

"That is one serious virus." Hiccup stated, looking at the laptop screen with a little bit of awe. "Let me try something..."

He pressed a few keys on the keyboard until the screen went black and green HTML code scrolled across it. "Okay, so... I can get rid of the virus, but you will lose everything. I mean everything will be gone. It will go back to its factory settings."

"Yeah, yeah okay. The most important stuff is backed up on an external hard drive. Saving the laptop is worth losing a few files. I can't afford another one as nice as this one." The customer replied, wide eyed and hopeful.

"Tuff, get the necessary forms for the customer." Hiccup commanded then turned back to the man to explain company policy. "I just have to have you fill out some forms saying we aren't liable for your losses..."

As the customer filled out a few forms, Hiccup got to work resetting the laptop, his attention entirely on the task at hand. It was a process and took about fifteen minutes, the customer annoyingly pestering him with questions the whole time.

"Okay. That should do it. Your laptop is back to its original settings." Hiccup smiled at the customer reassuringly. "I recommend not opening any emails sent from unknown sources. I have a pamphlet I can give you about identifying scam emails and viruses."

"Oh, thank you so much! This laptop is my life. I'm a student and I rely on this thing for everything. I couldn't afford a new one, I've already accumulated so much student debt as it is." The guy thanked Hiccup profusely, "I really shouldn't have been so stupid. I thought the email looked a little suspicious."

"Do you mind telling me what the email was for and what they were advertising? That way I can warn others to avoid it. That was one nasty virus. It wiped out the whole computer. I almost thought it was unsalvageable." Hiccup inquired, curious.

"Uh... well. It's kind of embarrassing." The young man fidgeted, Hiccup gave him a reassuring look so the guy relented. "It was for this dating website called 'Romantic Flight' and it was offering me six months free and a decent discount. I clicked on the link and it took me to a website, then my computer crashed and went crazy. It was dumb, I can't believe I fell for it, but I'm at school all the time and I never meet people..."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Hiccup comforted. "You got your laptop back with minimal losses. Now you know better."

"Thanks." The customer smiled back, finally calm after the whole ordeal.

"Now, you may be interested in some anti-virus software..." Tuffnut led the man away to peruse the merchandise.

Hiccup took a deep breath, relaxing back in his chair. "Spend all day on my butt, spouting nonsense into the phone, yeah Snotlout, my job is completely stress-free."

"Speaking of phones, you dork." Hiccup spun around in his chair as Snotlout's voice startled him from his thoughts. "She left."

"Oh. Right. Astrid." Hiccup couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, he had taken a liking to the blond woman.

"But, she left this business card here. With her number on it." Snotlout held up a card and Hiccup got up from his seat to walk over to the other end of the Nerd Herd station where Snotlout stood on the other side of the counter. "She probably left it for me, but I'll let you have this one."

Hiccup took the card and looked at it. _Astrid Hofferson- Personal Trainer: 555-8963._

"Well, if I know me, I won't ever call her." Hiccup stated, a little defeated.

"Oh come on! You guys were making googly eyes at each other. I was sensing some serious vibes between you two."

"Who was making googly eyes?" Another voice joined the conversation.

"Gobber, don't you ever work?" Hiccup said in response as Gobber hobbled over to the desk.

"No, he spends all of his time here, distracting my employees." Stoick had been on his way over, having seen his friend enter the building. Despite his words and tone of voice, he had a friendly look on his face.

"Why should I stick around my store when I've got my own employees doing all the work for me?" Gobber asked, referring to his little home furnishings store just a short walk away from the Buy More.

"Because people from all over come to your store personally, to buy your handcrafted tables, chairs, and whatever else you build." Hiccup answered.

"I'm down two limbs, they'll understand if I get a little help."

"I think the two-limbed woods crafter is part of the appeal for them." Hiccup responded.

"Then I'll raise the price and tell them I made it myself. Which I do, I just have a few employees doing the sanding and polishing." Gobber justified. "Speaking of employees. You're a talented artist. What would it take to get you to leave this dump and come work for me instead?"

Hiccup gave his father an amused look. "Not much."

"Very funny." Stoick said with a straight face. "But I'm willing to share. How about you get him on Tuesdays and Thursdays?"

"That's fine with me, so long as I get him for the two weeks before Christmas. That's my busiest time of year."

"That's also a busy time of year for the Buy More."

"You've got plenty of people who can run a desk, there is only one Hiccup."

"What is happening?" Hiccup interrupted the odd exchange between Gobber and his dad, somewhat flattered, but mostly embarrassed.

"Who wants to negotiate for Snotlout?" Snotlout raised his hand and looked around at the group eagerly.

"No one." The other three answered at the same time, before bursting into friendly laughter.

"Anyway, I came over to see if you were still planning on joining me at the Great Hall bar tonight, Stoick." Gobber turned to address his friend.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot." Stoick replied. "I'll go with you, Hiccup can take the car home."

"That is, unless you feel like joining us?" Gobber inquired.

"Thanks, but... I'd rather just go home. I'm not much of a drinker anyway." Hiccup declined, looking a little uncomfortable at the attention.

"This works out great. Hiccup will have the car, he can call that girl, and pick her up for a date." Snotlout announced, Hiccup immediately shooting him a deadly glare.

"What girl?" Stoick asked in surprise.

"So _you _were the one making googly eyes." Gobber brought back up.

"No! It's nothing. Shut up, Snotlout!" Hiccup got defensive, trying to brush aside the topic before his dad could get more involved.

"She gave you her number!" Snotlout exclaimed, gesturing with his hands. It wasn't everyday that a woman that pretty gave either of them their phone number, no matter how much Snotlout tried.

"She left a business card. For all I know she thinks I need to bulk up and wants to be my personal trainer." Hiccup reasoned, holding out the card for everyone to see.

"Personal trainer, huh?" Gobber wiggled his eyebrows at Hiccup, receiving the deadly glare for his efforts.

"She left you her card, with her number, after flirting with you as you fixed her phone. She's into you." Snotlout confirmed, Stoick and Gobber nodded in agreement.

"I'll think about it, okay?" Hiccup tried to pacify them.

"Mmhmm." Gobber wasn't convinced and gave Hiccup a look that said as much. "Thinking is the only thing you'll do. Take a chance, it might lead somewhere."

"Gobber's right." Stoick agreed, ever the one to encourage to his son to move on with his life in one way or another.

"Fine, but not tonight. I'll probably consider doing it tomorrow, maybe." Hiccup finally gave in, though he didn't sound very confident. He tried to tell them what they wanted to hear, but couldn't manage to make a solid promise, knowing that he would be just as reluctant later on.

"Wow. That's convincing." Snotlout sassed with a straight face. Stoick shook his head in exasperation, knowing his son was unlikely to follow through. Gobber however, was usually the more optimistic and supportive one and gave Hiccup a thumbs up with his one remaining hand.

"...I've got to work on some... stuff." Hiccup gestured in the general direction behind himself, still not convincing anyone, and made his escape from the incredibly uncomfortable conversation.

—

"So you do have you're own place, right? Because I swear more than half the time you are following me or my dad home like a lost puppy. Except puppies are cute." Hiccup teased as he walked toward the front door of his and his father's home, digging in his pocket for his house keys.

"Don't be stupid. Of course I do, you've been there." Snotlout replied, trailing behind his taller cousin, something more important on his mind. No matter how hard Hiccup tried, Snotlout continued to bring the topic of conversation back to a certain blond woman. "But someone has to instill confidence in you so you'll call that girl."

"This again? You spent all of dinner along with Ruff, Tuff, and surprisingly Fishlegs, telling me to call her." Hiccup rolled his eyes in exasperation, opening the front door with his key. "You should have followed one of them home."

"What can I say, I spent a lot of my childhood he-" Snotlout was cut off as Hiccup flipped on a light, revealing a masked figure in all black standing on the other side of the living room, a laptop in hand.

Hiccup and Snotlout stood frozen in the entranceway, shocked expressions on their faces before Hiccup snapped out of it. "Hey! That's my laptop!"

Hiccup ran forward, not giving much thought to his actions, but before he reached the person in black, it tossed the laptop at him. Hiccup caught it on instinct and came to an abrupt stop, surprised by the burglar's actions. In his moment of hesitation the intruder dropped down and swept Hiccup's feet out from under him, causing him to land hard on his back and lose his breath.

"I got you Hiccup!" Snotlout grabbed a broom that was leaning against a wall and ran at the burglar who was prying the laptop from a stunned Hiccup. As the broom came down in an arc, the black figure raised the laptop up like a shield in an effort at defense.

"No!" Hiccup cried out in dismay as his laptop shattered, shards of plastic flying in all directions. The intruder dropped the remaining pieces of the laptop, shoved Snotlout to the ground next to Hiccup, and bolted out the open front door.

Hiccup leapt to his feet in pursuit, but as he ran around the door's entranceway he immediately bumped into a solid figure and ended up back on the ground with an "Oof."

"Hiccup?" Stoick stood over his son, a startled look on his face. A confused Gobber raised an eyebrow, at his side.

"Did you get him?" Snotlout raced outside, eyes wide and looking all around before landing on the scene in front of him.

"Get who?" Stoick asked, following Snotlout's lead and glancing around the area.

"There was someone in the house. They were trying to steal my laptop." Hiccup answered as he stood up and brushed himself off.

"What?!" Stoick pushed past them into the house and saw the mess on the floor. He pulled out his phone and was about to dial a number when Hiccup came in behind him.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked with exasperation.

"Calling the cops." Stoick answered firmly. No one broke into his home and got away with it. Hiccup and Snotlout had been right there, they could've been hurt.

"Dad, don't. What could they do anyway? The guy wore a mask, we have no description. They didn't manage to steal anything anyway." He looked down at his laptop and let out a resigned sigh.

"We didn't see anyone out there." Gobber added, confused as to how the burglar got away so fast.

Stoick hesitated, his finger over the call button. He didn't like injustice and didn't want to let someone get away with the damage they had caused, even if no one had been harmed. He looked at his son, knowing that he had a point. Stoick put his phone away with an irritated puff of breath and then addressed Hiccup and Snotlout. "Are you two alright?"

"We're fine." Hiccup answered simply.

"Most exciting thing to ever happen to me." Snotlout stated, a little too optimistically given the situation at hand.

"The only casualty is my laptop." Hiccup grumped, bending over to pick up the damaged computer and examine it. "I doubt I can salvage anything from this. Why would someone want my laptop anyway?"

"It was a nice laptop, probably worth something." Stoick shrugged. There were other, more expensive items in their home.

"Of all the stuff in the house though, this was the only thing they were after." Hiccup observed thoughtfully.

"You caught them in the act, maybe they didn't get the chance to take anything else." Gobber suggested.

"Let's just get this cleaned up. We can look at some new laptops for you tomorrow." Stoick took charge, dismissing the oddity of the burglar's choice of theft. Who knew why criminals did what the did anyway? The point was that his son and his nephew were safe, no item was worth more than that.

"Okay..." Hiccup didn't look convinced, his mind whirring as he tried to connect certain events. He wondered if this incident had anything to do with the message from Eret. His life had certainly taken a turn for the weird in the past 24 hours.

—

A/N: Thanks for reading! I appreciate all of the follows, faves, and reviews.

Guest: HTTYD and "Chuck" do have a lot of parallels, don't they? It's like this story was just asking to be written.


	3. Hiccup Vs Project Alpha Dragon

Episode 1, Part 3: Hiccup Vs. Project Alpha Dragon

Hiccup and his friends stood gathered in the Nerd Herd desk area, staring down at his demolished computer.

"Sorry Hiccup, we all gave it our best shot." Fishlegs said with remorse. "None of us could find anything on the hard drive. Your computer is dead."

"May it find rest in the Halls of Valhalla..." Tuffnut proclaimed dramatically, raising a hand in the air in his usual dramatics.

"Can I light it on fire?" Ruffnut asked hopefully, a potentially dangerous glint in her eye.

"No!" Hiccup glared at the twins.

"Were you really almost robbed by a ninja?" Tuffnut asked excitedly.

"What if you're an unwitting target in a ninja vendetta and he returns tonight to strangle you with his nunchucks as you sleep the sleep of the dead?" Ruffnut asked with complete nonchalance.

"Great! Thanks, Ruff. That was just what I needed to hear after all the weird things that have been happening to me lately." Hiccup exited the enclosed Nerd Herd space as he tried to stamp down on the confusion and panic rising in him. "Man the desk while I go browse our security systems and maybe convince my dad to install one."

"Wait. What other weird things have happened?" Fishlegs suddenly asked, but he went ignored as Hiccup walked away. The others exchanged glances and shrugged. Hiccup was acting weirder than usual, but they supposed he had reason.

Hiccup walked down an aisle of DVDs and Blu-ray discs on his way to the section of the store that had home security systems. He didn't actually plan on buying any, he just wanted an excuse to get away from his friends so he could think and try to clear his head. It had been one thing after another ever since his birthday, and if he was being honest, he was getting a little freaked out by everything.

As he exited the aisle, not focused specifically on where he was going, he accidentally bumped into someone walking in the opposite direction. Their eyes met briefly as they looked at each other in either surprise or indignation.

"Excuse me, I'm..." Hiccup began to apologize when a throbbing pain erupted in his head. He squinted his eyes and blinked as, once again, images flashed through his mind. _Old images of the customer dressed in fatigues. A file with a photo and the words: Demolitions Expert._

Hiccup stumbled back in surprise, his eyes wide. A glance down revealed what the man was carrying: some computer parts and wires.

"What?" The rugged looking man asked with impatience.

"N-nothing! I'm so sorry, please excuse me." Hiccup answered in a panicky voice. The man grumbled at him as he pushed past. Hiccup stood in place with a bewildered expression on his face as he followed the man with his eyes.

"Hey, dude." Snotlout snapped him out of his trance, having appeared at Hiccup's side without him noticing. "You're being weird. You've been standing there with a stupid look on your face for way longer than is socially acceptable."

"What?" Hiccup still wasn't paying Snotlout much mind as he watching the man he'd bumped into exit the store.

"Is something wrong?" Snotlout raised an eyebrow as he examined Hiccup.

"Weird things keep happening..." Hiccup started thinking out loud and in a distant sounding voice, his mind going through all the weird things that had been happening to him. "I have this headache that won't go away and I just recognized a man I've never seen before... a dangerous man. I think I'm going crazy."

"Yeah, sure. But you know what's really crazy?" Snotlout directed Hiccup's gaze to the Nerd Herd desk as he dismissed the nonsense Hiccup had just told him. "I think that girl really likes you."

Astrid stood at the Nerd Herd counter, waiting. She gave Hiccup a little wave when their eyes met from across the store. Surprised, Hiccup made his way through the aisles and approached her, forgetting the odd interaction he'd had with that man.

Snotlout followed right behind his cousin, there was no way he was missing this. When they passed by an aisle where Stoick and Gobber were talking, Snotlout met their eyes and pointed at the blond woman. The face he made giving them a hint as to who she was, and the two turned their attention to the scene in front of the Nerd Herd desk.

"Is it the phone again?" Hiccup asked once he was standing in front of her.

"Yeah. I'm not sure I'm able to receive calls... 'cause I never got one from you." Astrid gave Hiccup a suggestive smile, Hiccup's eyebrows shooting up in a look of surprise.

A chorus of "Oooooh" erupted from various, nearby aisles and behind the desk as his friends and fellow employees listened in on the conversation. Unfortunately, it was a rather slow day at the Buy More and his co-workers had nothing better to do but eavesdrop on Hiccup's conversation. His cheeks felt warm and he was pretty sure he was blushing. Why couldn't everyone just mind their own business?

A quiet snicker sounded from beside him and Hiccup shot Snotlout an annoyed look. Taking the hint, Snotlout slowly walked away to observe from a distance. He took a place next to Stoick and Gobber.

Astrid chuckled lightly at the antics of the people around them, then met Hiccup's eyes again. "I'm sorry I left in such a hurry yesterday. I had an appointment with my realtor. I just moved here."

"Oh, really? Um, welcome." Hiccup wasn't all that sure what to say, as he was still surprised that she had come back to see him. The growing feeling of self-consciousness from all the eyes he knew were watching this interaction, didn't help.

"Thank you. So, I don't really know anyone from around here and I was hoping that you'd want to show me around. Tonight, if you're free?" She looked at him with hopeful eyes and a touch of bashfulness that almost seemed formulaic.

"He's free!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut chorused from behind the counter, high-fiving at their synchronicity.

"Whoo hoo!" A voice from further back in the store called out, some other bored employee, no doubt.

"Way to go!" The shout of congratulations came from the other side of the store from someone in another aisle.

"Apparently, I'm free." Hiccup said with a blush, internally cursing his co-workers for getting so involved. "Sorry about my colleagues. I have... no privacy."

"Oh, it doesn't bother me."Astrid leaned in a fraction, almost conspiratorially, and in a very flirtatious way. "Sometimes the shy ones need a little encouragement."

Hiccup wasn't sure if he could blush any harder than he was. He was so dreading the looks he would get from his father and Gobber once she left, he knew that they were watching too.

"You still have my number?" Astrid asked when he said nothing.

"Uh, yeah, I do." Hiccup looked down sheepishly, because apparently she had actually expected him to call the day before. He was admitting to keeping her number, but still not calling.

"Call me when you're done working, okay? I'll text you my new address so you can pick me up." She talked to him gently, like he was someone who spooked easily and needed encouragement.

"Okay, yeah, I'll do that." He must not have sounded very convincing, because she gave him a look. "And I really will call this time."

"Good, you better. Just remember, I know where you work." Astrid said with a sly smile as she headed for the exit. She gave him a flirtatious wave as she left.

Hiccup watched her leave, letting his eyes linger on the exit doors for a moment. When he finally looked away his eyes landed on his father, Gobber, and Snotlout. All three wearing huge grins. Gobber was wiggling his eyebrows again and Snotlout was giving him a thumbs up. Yes, he had certainly been right to dread their reactions after Astrid left.

—

It had been a long time since Hiccup had gone on a first date, and his nerves were getting the better of him. He fidgeted with a bouquet of flowers, anxiously, as he stood in the hallway, outside Astrid's apartment. He wore a nice, olive green, button-up shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and black dress pants. It had also been awhile since he had needed to dress up for anything like this and he hadn't known how causal or formal he should look. Snotlout had told him he was fussing more than a girl would, about what to wear on his date.

He could hear movement inside and assumed that Astrid was coming to answer the door. It had taken way too long to work up the courage to knock. Part of him wanted to turn tail and run. If he didn't go on the date, he couldn't be hurt later. His father would be incredibly disappointed if he didn't follow through, however. Stoick and Gobber were so pushy about girls because it had been so long since Hiccup had ventured out into the world of dating. Past experience had not been kind to him and he feared rejection and betrayal.

The door opened and Astrid beamed at him with a welcoming smile. She was dressed in a simple, light blue dress. It was sleeveless and had a modest neckline with a slightly ruffled skirt that reached to her calves. Her hair was still in a braid, but it was more intricately woven than the one she wore earlier.

"Wow, look at you. You clean up nicely, Hiccup." Astrid complimented, seeming to be very happy to see him again. "That green really makes your eyes stand out."

"Oh, thanks." Hiccup said shyly, he could tell he was already blushing. Curse his stupid, red cheeks. "You look very pretty... These are for you."

"Thanks, Hiccup. They're very lovely." Astrid took the flowers from him and invited him to follow her inside. She walked to the kitchen area and pulled out a plastic pitcher. "Let me just put these in some water. I have a vase somewhere, but it's still in a box."

"If you need help unpacking, just let me know." Hiccup offered "I'll make Snotlout do all the heavy lifting."

"Your friend from the store?" Astrid laughed as she set the flowers in some water.

"He's actually my cousin. We kind of grew up together."

"That's sweet. I'll let you know." She walked over to him, grabbed his hand, and led him back toward the open door. On the way out Hiccup's eyes were drawn to a pile of black clothes peeking out from behind the couch, like they had been thrown there hurriedly. Before he could give the oddity of it any more thought, Astrid had pulled him into the hallway, shut, and locked her door.

"So, where are you going to take me?" She asked with an excited smile.

—

"Personal trainer is a very vague job description. Are we talking exercise routines or something bizarre like, axe throwing?" Hiccup questioned while they ate their dinner. He had taken her to a popular, locally owned diner, as she had said she wanted to get to know the area. It had taken a little time, but Hiccup discovered that she was very easy to talk to. He found himself lowering his guard and opening up in a way he hadn't done in years.

Astrid almost choked on her food as she laughed at his comment.

"You okay?" Hiccup asked with amusement.

"Yeah, yes." Astrid finally replied, gaining control of herself. "It's just funny. You're very funny."

"And you're avoiding the question. Is it something weirder than axe throwing?" Hiccup gave her a mock-suspicious look.

"Martial Arts." Astrid answered with a chuckle. "That's my specialty, but I can do exercise routines. Or, I guess, if you're into axes, I could probably do that too."

"Oh, that's impressive. I would be hopeless at all of those." Hiccup admitted, smiling at the banter.

"That's okay, I'm hopeless with computers." Astrid assured him.

"I used to be. It wasn't really my area of interest, originally, but I learned a lot about them in college. I had to take classes on 3-D rendering, computer processing, and computer-aided design." Hiccup explained his history with computers.

"Wow, now I'm impressed." Astrid said with interest. "What exactly were you majoring in?"

"Um... architecture." Hiccup hesitated to answer, not necessarily wanting to go down this line of conversation again.

Sensing his sudden discomfort, Astrid decided to change the subject. "This is a nice city. There is so much to do and look at, and it's next to the shoreline."

"Yeah, Berkeley, California is pretty great. I grew up here, so it's really all I know..." Hiccup's eyes drifted toward the big window beside their booth as a motorcade of black limos with little, foreign flags waving on the hoods, drove past and caught his eye. Before he knew what was happening, Hiccup sucked in a breath of air as a pounding in his head started up. _Lines of code. A blueprint. The inside of a hall in a large building._

—

—"_Hiccup? Are you okay?" Astrid said with a worried voice, reaching a hand across the table to touch his arm."_

"_Yeah... yeah, sorry. I just zoned out." Hiccup responded, still somewhat distracted. "Those limousines... Chief Mogadon was supposed to be in one of them."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_He wasn't though, they took him on a different route in a disguised vehicle, because they think his life is in danger."—_

"Got you." A deep voice whispered in response to the conversation he was eavesdropping on. He instinctively moved his hand from the listening device in his ear and reached down to finger the gun he had concealed under his jacket. Instead of drawing his weapon, he thought better of it, they were in a populated area. Best to be more discrete. "I've got eyes on the target and confirmation that he is the threat. Move in when you get the chance."

—

"Hiccup, is there something-" Astrid started to say, slight suspicion in her voice.

"It's nothing. I'm so sorry." Hiccup quickly interrupted her. "I don't know why I said any of that. Do you want to dance?"

"What?" Astrid was thrown by the sudden change in conversation.

"The dance floor?" Hiccup gestured to the center of the quaint diner, where people were dancing to some live music. He hoped to distract her from what just happened. "We should dance."

"Uh, okay." Astrid took the hand he offered her and stood up. Hiccup led her to a corner of the dance floor and put a hand on her waist, leading her in a simple dance, rocking to the beat of the music.

Astrid observed their surroundings from over his shoulder as they swayed. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted three similarly dressed men spread out around them, all their attention on her and Hiccup. When she made eye contact with one of them, the three men slowly started to approach. Hiccup and Astrid were surrounded.

The slow song ended and a more upbeat one started up. Astrid pulled back from Hiccup's respectful embrace, gave him a smile, then twirled him aside.

"Whoa!" Hiccup exclaimed in surprise. As he stumbled away Astrid brought up her leg and kicked out viciously at one of their attackers, bringing him down as he clutched at his gut. Turning around she quickly grabbed onto Hiccup and got up into his face. He hadn't seen what she'd done. Hiccup seemed a bit startled by her aggressive dancing, but that didn't stop her, he would remain distracted and that's what she needed.

Continuing what she started, Astrid lifted a leg while she danced seductively and wrapped it around one of Hiccup's as she looked deep into his eyes. Without him noticing, she drew up the skirt of her dress over her thigh until she had a hand wrapped around a tranq gun.

"Um... Astrid?" Hiccup tried to talk, growing a little concerned at her sudden behavior, but she didn't give him the chance. She removed her leg from around him and threw both her arms over his shoulders, shooting the second aggressor in the process.

There was one left and he was pushing through the crowd of dancers with urgency. Astrid yanked Hiccup in for a rough kiss and shot the last of their pursuers, returning the tranq gun to its place before it was noticed.

Hiccup suddenly pulled back. "Not that I didn't appreciate that, it was nice... but-"

Astrid didn't let him finish, she clutched his wrist tightly and dragged him to the exit of the restaurant. She had spotted another man, more important looking than the other three, the man in charge. He had a strip of red hair down the middle of his scalp, the sides shaved, and it was pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck. He lifted a hand to his ear and spoke, probably summoning more back up. "Let's go. I'm going to take you back to my place."

"Wait, we haven't even paid yet." Hiccup protested. "Please stop."

Astrid had him out the exit and down the street in no time, Hiccup politely trying to object the whole way.

"Get in the car." She commanded as she walked over to the driver's side.

"Now wait a minute. What is this about?" Hiccup asked with growing impatience.

"Hiccup, seriously, let's go." Astrid replied. "I was having a good time and now I'm ready to return to my place. With you. Don't you want that?"

"We just met yesterday. I was perfectly fine finishing our date at the diner. On top of that..." Hiccup's eyes grew wide in horror. "I have never stolen a thing in my life! I'm going back in there to pay."

Astrid gave him the most confused and puzzled expression she could make. "Never...?"

At that moment a black van came barreling down the road toward them. Hiccup and Astrid snapped their heads in its direction. Astrid unlocked the car doors. "Get in, Hiccup!"

"Wait. How did you...?" Hiccup opened the passenger side door. "Those keys were in my pocket!"

"Get in." She started up the vehicle and buckled her seat belt. Hiccup climbed in and buckled his as well. Astrid shot out of their parking spot along the curb, twisting the steering wheel as far as it would go, taking them in the opposite direction of their pursuers.

"Next time you have phone trouble, I'm going to have to ask you to consult the Geek Squad." Hiccup said as he clung to whatever he could wrap his hands around, frustrated by the bizarre turn their date had taken.

They flew around a corner as the black van started to gain on them. "Okay, I'm gonna need to know who those guys are and what they want with you!" Hiccup finally reached his limit. She had pick-pocketed his keys, left the diner in a hurry without considering what he wanted, hijacked his company car, and was now driving like a crazy person.

"They're not after me, they're after you!" Astrid informed him in a tight voice as she looked in the rear view mirror.

"Me?! Why?!" Hiccup asked incredulously, in a strained voice. He hadn't done anything or upset anyone.

Astrid didn't answer, too focused on weaving through traffic. Spotting a narrow alley up ahead she turned the steering wheel and skidded the car around to face it, then pressed hard on the gas petal, shooting through the tight opening. The black van came to an abrupt halt behind them, unable to follow through the narrow space. They were left behind.

As they made their escape, Astrid slowed her driving so that they blended in with traffic. They were both silent for a few minutes. Hiccup suddenly wary and suspicious of her.

"How well do you know Eret Eretson?" Astrid spoke up after a while. Hiccup perked up and looked at her with a shocked expression.

"How do you know Eret?" He asked suspiciously in response.

"I work for the CIA. I investigated him. He works for a terrorist organization. Or at least, he did. He's dead." Astrid informed him with such nonchalance, like everything she said was something a person hears on an everyday basis.

"Eret is dead?!" Hiccup looked horrified and overwhelmed with everything she had told him. "Should I feel bad? Because I suddenly feel bad for holding a grudge against him. Wait... terrorist?"

"Yes. The terrorist group he worked for managed to steal a secret program that the CIA was developing. It was called Project Alpha Dragon. It contains all of the US' secret intelligence. After it was stolen, we lost track of it. That is until almost two days ago when it was transmitted from a device owned by Eret... to you." Astrid continued her explanation as she drove down random streets, insuring that they had lost their pursuers.

"That's what that was?" Hiccup sounded disbelieving. "Why would he send that to me?!"

"That's what I want to know. That's why I'm here." Astrid gave him a suspicious look, "Were you working with them?"

"No!" He was suddenly very offended. "That stupid message has caused me all sorts of problems! I met Eret back in college. I thought he was just another architecture student. But do you know what he did to me? He accused me of cheating and got me expelled from my dream program! And now I work at the Nerd Herd desk. Clearly, it was all good fun to a terrorist!"

"Why would he pretend to be a student?" Astrid tried to puzzle things out.

"How would I know?" Hiccup was still miffed by his misfortune.

"Okay then. Do you still have the program? Maybe on a backup external hard drive?" Astrid changed the subject from Eret. Hiccup narrowed his eyes as a thought suddenly occurred to him. She knew about his laptop...

"You!" He turned in his seat and looked at her with accusing eyes, the pile of black clothing coming to mind. "You're the one who broke into my house!"

"I needed to get my hands on that program. Your bumbling cousin ruined my chances at getting it back." She responded with annoyance.

"Nice disguise, I just assumed the intruder was a man." Hiccup mumbled with irritation, "And to answer your question— no. I did not back it up. After I opened his message and all those weird images popped up I wanted nothing to do with it. So I didn't touch it again."

"You opened it?!" Astrid exclaimed with alarm. Before Hiccup could respond, they were thrown to the side violently as the black van T-boned them on Hiccup's side.

—

Hiccup didn't think it was possible for his head to hurt any more than it did in that moment. He was slowly gaining consciousness. Above the ringing in his ears he heard muffled, angry voices. He was pretty sure he was sitting in a chair... Were his hands tied behind his back? And something soft was patting the right side of his face where he felt all sticky.

"...could have killed him!"

"How was I supposed to know who he was?!"

"Maybe because that's your job!"

The arguing, loud, and sharp voices pierced through Hiccup's skull. He tried to make sense of the words he was hearing, but his head was foggy and it took a lot of effort.

"His name came up as a threat to national security, the reason why was confidential. As the one assigned to Chief Mogadon's security, I had to check him out." A deep, male voice spoke with a little less intensity than before, making it easier for Hiccup to listen.

"By attacking him and ramming a car into him?! That's a bit extreme, don't you think, Throk?" Astrid was reprimanding someone.

"I would have left him alone— watching your date was extremely boring, by the way— but then he mentioned Chief Mogadon. He knew information that he shouldn't have known. I assumed he was a threat." Throk defended his actions.

"I was sent to investigate Hiccup, you should have contacted Director Mala, then this whole situation could have been avoided!" Astrid continued her reprimand, her voice increasing to a painful volume, even though in actuality it wasn't that loud.

"Ah..." Hiccup gasped in pain. He slowly began to force his eyes open, but everything remained fuzzy, he closed them again.

"Hiccup?" That was Astrid's voice, she had been talking about him with someone. "I need you to open your eyes."

Hiccup pried his eyes open again, his vision clearing the more he blinked. Astrid was leaning down to look him in the eye, holding a cloth up to the side of his head where he was pretty sure he was bleeding.

"There you are." Astrid said with relief. "I've almost stopped the bleeding. Hold still while I clean you up."

"Why are you so worried anyway?" Throk asked from behind her. "Isn't he some kind of criminal?"

"M'not..." Hiccup tried to defend himself but consciousness was coming to him slowly. His head really hurt.

"It sounded to me like he was dragged into something unwillingly." Astrid replied, getting defensive on his behalf. "He's a nice guy. He certainly didn't deserve to be hit by a car."

"If he's a threat to national security then he's not innocent." Throk continued. "Don't tell me you fell for him on that date? You're more professional than that."

"Shut up, Throk. He is my mission. Why don't you go walk the perimeter and make sure your precious Chief is safe?"

"Wait... Where am I?" Hiccup was becoming more lucid. "Why am I tied up?!"

"Because Throk is an idiot." Astrid stopped wiping the blood from his head and leaned over him to cut the ties binding his hands together.

"You shouldn't-" Throk tried to protest.

"He's not a threat to Chief Mogadon. So calm down." Astrid interrupted, moving in to clean the remaining, dried blood off Hiccup's face. Hiccup leaned away from the touch.

"Where am I?" Hiccup looked worried. Neither his father, Gobber, Snotlout, or his friends had any idea where he was. He had left on a date, if he didn't return that night, no one would question it. They would just make suggestive remarks to him the next day, assuming he ever got out of here.

"It's okay Hiccup, no one is going to hurt you." Astrid tried to reassure him.

"For now." Throk grumbled. Hiccup looked up at him with panic in his eyes, then groaned and lowered his head as the quick movement made him dizzy. Astrid punched Throk's shoulder and glared.

"Don't listen to him. We're at the Hotel Shattuck Plaza. It's where the summit is taking place with Chief Mog-"

Hiccup gasped loudly and cried out in pain. He grabbed his head with both hands and leaned over. A myriad of images invaded his vision. _Blueprints for the Hotel Shattuck Plaza. Computer schematics. Photos of the Serbian demolitions expert._

"Ah!" Hiccup cried out again. He had seen a staggering amount of data and was very overwhelmed.

"What's wrong? Hiccup!" Astrid kneeled in front of him with a hand rested on his shoulder.

"He's going to kill him..." Hiccup groaned, voice muffled by his hands that were now covering his face.

"Kill who?" Throk demanded as he leaned over, grabbed Hiccup's shoulders, and pulled him back up into a sitting position despite Astrid's protests, causing him some vertigo.

"Chief Mogadon..." Hiccup met Throk's eyes, an almost frightened expression spreading on his face. "I think there's something wrong with me. I keep remembering things... things that I shouldn't know."

"What is he talking about?" Throk looked to Astrid who was still kneeling next to Hiccup.

"Hiccup, talk to me. What did you see?" Astrid ignored Throk and turned her attention back to Hiccup.

"There was a Serbian demolitions expert at the Buy More earlier today... Last week the NSA intercepted blueprints for the Hotel Shattuck Plaza. And the CIA found a file in Prague with schematics for a new Serbian bomb... the bomb in this hotel." Hiccup's eyes grew wide. "Why do I know all this?"

"Astrid." Throk demanded in a stern voice.

"It's the Alpha Dragon program. You said you opened Eret's message?" Astrid inquired more urgently.

"Yes. There was a question and a box for typing in an answer. When I input the answer all of these images popped up on the screen. There were so many. What happened? What's wrong with me?" Both Hiccup and Throk looked to Astrid for answers.

"The intelligence imbedded in the Alpha Dragon program are subliminally encoded into images. If you see the image, you see the secret. Eret sent you the entire thing." Astrid finally answered, revealing to Hiccup what had been in that message.

"Wait. What are you saying?" Throk asked with horror.

"Don't you get it? All of our secrets, all of our intelligence... It's all in his head. Hiccup is the Dragon Master. The program is in his head." Astrid announced much to everyone's shock.

"This guy? That program was meant for the best CIA agents!" Throk nearly raged at the less than ideal situation.

"The program was stolen. Then it was sent to him." Astrid explained.

"But why?!" Throk was not thrilled by the news. That program was very important and this guy was useless.

"Guys! There is a bomb. It's going to explode. Chief Mogadon takes the stage in twenty minutes!" Hiccup stopped their arguing before it could really escalate.

"We need to evacuate the building." Throk instructed.

"We don't have time, we need to find that bomb." Astrid countered.

"We definitely don't have time to argue!" Hiccup got up, swayed on his feet for a brief moment, then rushed to the door. The two CIA agents followed.

"Hey! Stop!" Throk demanded, still unsure about Hiccup.

"Hiccup, what are you doing?" She chased after him.

"I know a shortcut to the ballroom!" Hiccup explained as he staggered through various hallways. After a few more turns they made it to a door. Inside, the room was packed with press and official looking people. Chief Mogadon was sitting on the stage, waiting for his introduction to end so that he could go up and speak. Nobody moved to intercept them as they roamed the room, the security recognizing Throk as the one in charge.

"Hiccup. Where is that bomb?" Throk whispered to him as they scanned the area.

"We're running out of time." Astrid reminded them.

Hiccup felt panic rising in his gut as he searched the room with his eyes. This was not how he expected his date to go! He was frantic, looking around until... he saw something. Wires. Lots of them. Peeking out from under the podium.

"There." Hiccup pointed to the stage. Both agents directed their gaze forward.

"Out of the way!" Throk commanded, running towards the suspected bomb. "This is official business."

Astrid and Hiccup followed, climbing onto the raised stage after him.

"What is this? What is going on?" Chief Mogadon spoke up. No one answered him as Throk carefully lifted up the top board of the podium. Inside was a closed laptop connected to explosives by bundles of wires.

"Is that a bomb?!" Someone asked, causing gasps and panicked cries to erupt. Throk's security tried to control the situation.

"Evacuate everyone!" Throk directed his men who immediately took action.

"If this goes off, it won't matter if they made it out of the room." Astrid pointed out quietly.

"They don't need to know that." Throk answered as he slowly opened the laptop. Everyone held their breathes as they watched. Once open, a timer could be seen on the screen, counting down from two minutes.

"Can we disconnect the laptop?" Astrid suggested.

"No, there's an auto-trigger." Hiccup unexpectedly answered, he made a confused face at the knowledge he didn't think he knew, but did.

"What about the cables?"

"There are six, multi-colored cables."

"How cliche." Throk muttered.

They weren't in the original plans." Hiccup said with a nervous tone.

"You need to get out of here Hiccup. You're too important." Astrid turned to him, but Hiccup wasn't about to leave.

"No." he said firmly, taking a step forward, but before he could touch the laptop Throk grabbed his arm and gave him a stern look.

"Don't." Was all Throk said, but the threat behind that one word was obvious.

"I've worked on laptops like this before. What if the Serbian didn't reset the factory override? I can do this. I have an idea." Hiccup looked to Astrid.

"We can't save anyone here. We all die if we don't give him a chance." Astrid told Throk. They both looked at the timer— it continued to count down. Throk nodded his agreement.

Hiccup typed in a code, causing a black window to pop up on the monitor. Then he typed in another code and waited a brief second. An internet browser opened up in front of the timer.

"Where's my search bar...?" Hiccup muttered to himself before clicking on the aforementioned bar and typing in: _Romantic Flight._

"Now isn't the time to look for dates!" Throk said incredulously as Hiccup clicked on the link to the website.

Immediately a whirring sound could be heard from within the laptop, something was happening. The three of them took a step back in unison, wide eyes staring down the computer. The internet window glitched and closed. The timer froze at 15 seconds as the screen became pixelated.

"What's happening?" Throk asked, not sure if it was a good thing.

"This virus destroys all the data on a computer. It's breaking down its programming." Hiccup answered. The virus continued to wreck havoc on the computer. Being allowed to do its thing this time around, the whirring became louder until the screen shorted out and went black, causing the three to flinch. They waited anxiously for a moment, but nothing more happened.

"Nice work, Hiccup." Astrid praised him. Throk gave an acknowledging grunt.

"I did it. I just..." Hiccup's eyes widened. "I just defused a bomb. A real, ticking bomb. Oh God what if I was wrong?!"

Hiccup's head started pounding again, reminding him of his head injury, as the adrenaline wore off. He brought up his hands and clutched his head, moaning in pain. Astrid gave him a concerned look and put a supporting arm on his back.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." He suddenly leaned over, bracing himself on his knees.

"Whoa." Astrid said in surprise, trying to help in any way she could.

"Don't throw up on the bomb." Throk grumbled. "...can't even handle the excitement that just happened. And he's the Dragon Master..."

"I'm pretty sure you gave him a concussion earlier." Astrid gave Throk a piercing look. "We're lucky he's been able to function at all."

Hiccup's breathing became labored and his vision was darkening, but he fought it. The last thing he wanted was to lose consciousness in the presence of Throk and Astrid. Who knows where he would wake up then.

He became vaguely aware of being led down some stairs, off the raised stage, and to a chair. He was grateful to be sitting and immediately rested his arms and head on the table in front of him.

"Now what?" Throk asked as he watched Hiccup struggle, still unsure of what to think of him.

"You called it in?" Astrid inquired.

"Yes, a team is coming to dispose of the bomb properly." Throk informed her, having made the call while Astrid assisted Hiccup in fumbling down the stairs.

"Then that's it. Your job is done." She said simply, dismissing him.

"What about him?" Throk didn't think his job was done, clearly there was still the issue of the Alpha Dragon being in Hiccup's head.

"He's my mission, not yours." Astrid said with some hostility. Throk had a problem with Hiccup and hadn't treated him that well, but Hiccup hadn't done anything wrong.

"I'm just supposed to ignore the fact that he has the CIA's secret project in his head?" He voiced his concerns, not appreciating being brushed off.

"I'll take care of it." Astrid took a step forward, getting in Throk's face.

"Really? From what I've seen you seem to have a soft spot for this one." Throk didn't budge. This was a serious situation and Astrid was clearly not handling the situation well.

"I do not. You're just sore because you went after the wrong target and my guy saved the day." Astrid threw the situation in his face, which Throk did not appreciated. They were practically growling in each other's faces as they confronted one another.

"Ugh! Shut Up! My head is pounding and the fighting isn't helping." Hiccup lifted his head and looked at the two, who took a couple steps away from each other. "Don't you guys work for the same organization? Shouldn't you be working as a team? Nice communication there, it definitely didn't almost get us all killed."

"You're right. None of this is helping." Astrid calmed down a fraction. Hiccup groaned again and lowered his head back down. "I need to get him some medical attention."

"There are paramedics outside..." Throk suggested.

"Yeah okay." Astrid gave her approval and Throk went to find a paramedic, obeying only because Hiccup was Astrid's asset, so she had to stay with him. After watching Throk leave, Astrid sat down next to Hiccup.

"What's going to happen to me?" Hiccup asked with his head still down. His voice came out all muffled, but she could understand what he was saying.

"My job was to get the program back. But I can't do that because it's in your head. Some of those secrets can only be accessed through you now." Astrid decided to be honest with him. "I don't know what Director Mala is going to say. But... we might have to take you somewhere secure."

"I have to leave...?" Hiccup sounded distraught by the idea.

"Maybe." She had to admit, Hiccup had a way of drawing out sympathy in her.

"Can't it be taken out of my head?" He asked timidly, afraid to hope for the best.

"I don't know. The program was still in development. We didn't get that far. It was meant for a CIA agent." Astrid felt bad that Hiccup had gotten involved in all this. He was a nice guy, he was good. He didn't deserve this misfortune and she felt the need to reassure him. "But maybe it's a possibility. Somewhere down the road."

Hiccup was starting to feel very tired. His eyes were closed and he just wanted to slip away and stop thinking about everything. He didn't want to be stressed out anymore. He wanted his headache to go away.

"I... don't..." He said in a very quiet, distant voice. "Wanna go..."

—

Hiccup was really getting tired of waking up in strange places with no idea what was going on. But at least this place was soft and cozy. His head didn't hurt as much as the last time he woke up— at least that was what he assumed, he couldn't really remember the last time he woke up.

"Where...?" He asked as he blinked open his eyes.

"Still at my apartment. Still in my bed." That was Astrid's voice. "Just like all the other times you woke up and asked me."

"Why?"

"Same reason as last time too."

"What...?"

"Concussion. I'm waking you every couple hours to make sure you're okay. You can go back to sleep now. My boss will be here in the morning and we'll discuss what's going to happen to you." She spoke quietly and gently.

"To me...?"

"Yes, Hiccup. Now rest."

—

This time around, Hiccup woke up much more coherent. He remembered the last time he had been woken up by Astrid. He knew where he was. He still had a slight headache, but since he wasn't incredibly disoriented, he counted it as a win. Astrid wasn't sitting by or on the bed this time around and light was spilling in through a crack between the curtains. Great. His father was going to start worrying soon. He'd been gone overnight and into the day. Their car was wrecked. He had no idea how he was going to explain all of that. But then... would he have to? He still didn't know his fate.

He sat up slowly, weary of his head. Quick movement still made him a little dizzy. At the sound of voices, Hiccup turned his head to the door that stood ajar.

"You're telling me that Project Alpha Dragon is in his head?" A stern and authoritative voice asked. "And the original program is destroyed with no way to get it back?"

"Yes ma'am." Astrid. Hiccup recognized her voice.

"The program is wasted on that one." Hiccup made a face, he didn't quite like Throk.

"Don't think that you're out of trouble here, Throk." The feminine and authoritative voice spoke again. "You made a mess of the situation with Chief Mogadon. You're lucky that— what's his name— Hiccup Haddock? Yes. You're lucky that Hiccup was able to defuse that bomb. I'd say that the program works rather well with that one. He's the only one it's worked on so far."

"I thought the project was still in development?" Astrid seemed confused.

"It was tested on one person before Hiccup." The one in charge, Director Mala?

"So then we still have access to that intelligence without him? We can use the other Dragon Master." Astrid seemed hopeful.

"No. The Alpha Dragon didn't take. The agent who volunteered, he won't ever be the same." Director Mala didn't sound too happy about that. "Hiccup is special. For some reason the program was compatible with his mind. We need him."

"But Director Mala." Ah, so it was her Astrid was talking to. "Hiccup has a life. He has a family and friends. He didn't ask for this. We can't just uproot him."

"What else could we do?"

"There's got to be a way to extract it."

"Astrid, we didn't even manage to find a way to safely put it in someone's head, who knows how long it will take us to figure out how to reverse it. He was never meant to have the program in his head. I have no idea what Eret was thinking or what he was trying to accomplish. But now that it has been done, we need Hiccup to keep accessing that information for us. We need to keep him safe so that our intelligence will be safe." Director Mala explained.

"So, what then? We take him somewhere. Lock him up and claim that it's for his own good?" Astrid started to sound angry on Hiccup's behalf.

"We can't just set him loose with all of our nation's secrets in his head." Mala countered.

"I'm not going anywhere." Hiccup had slowly made his way out of bed and to the door during their conversation and was now standing at the entrance to the living room.

"Look, Hiccup." An important looking woman with a stern face and short, blond hair turned to him, but Hiccup wasn't done having his say.

"Maybe I'm feeling a little cocky after defusing a bomb and saving like, hundreds of people." Hiccup dared to be forward, this was his life they were talking about and planning, without his consent. "That kind of thing can go to your head. But I'm the one who gets flashes of government secrets. Secrets that _you_ need access to. That means that you need me. Which means that you, listen to me."

Mala raised an eyebrow at him, not used to being talked to in this way. But she was also intrigued by what he had to say. "Go on."

"I want to stay here. If you need information on something or someone, you can come to me." Hiccup said in a voice that begged no arguments.

"That's ridiculous." Throk spoke up after a moment of silence. "We can't let him dictate the way this is going to go."

"Why not? It's his head. He's no CIA agent." Mala said with a slight smile. "What good does it do us to have him locked away in some secret facility? Why not keep him right here, hidden in plain sight?"

"What are you saying, Director?" Astrid asked, thinking that she had an idea of what her boss had in mind.

"That I have a new assignment for you and Throk."

"Me? Why do I have to be dragged into this?" Throk was affronted.

"Because you're still not off the hook for messing up your last assignment and you are now one of the few agents who have knowledge of the situation with Hiccup." Mala explained. "You'll make a base here, in Berkeley. The both of you will keep Hiccup safe."

Then Mala turned to Hiccup. "You will need to work with us, Hiccup. I expect you to be cooperative. Astrid will be your handler and Throk will be her back up. Astrid will teach you some basic self-defense as you may have to escort her on missions. You will be consulted on top-secret CIA matters. That being said. You cannot tell anyone about this. Your friends and family cannot know that you are working with the CIA. Understood?"

"Understood." Hiccup affirmed. He was, quite frankly, surprised that she went along with his request, but he wasn't going to question it.

"I suggest that you three get to work." Director Mala said as she strolled to the door. "You need to set up a base and a cover. Good luck."

With that, Mala was out the door, leaving the three of them standing in Astrid's living room. Astrid looked over at Hiccup with a smile. She was glad that it had worked out for him and oddly happy with the opportunity to spend more time around him. Hiccup gave her a slight smile in return. Things were working out better than he thought they would.

"Great. Now I'm on babysitting duty." Throk said grumpily.

"Oh, that's not even the worst of it." Astrid said with a smirk. "Hey, Hiccup? Is the Buy More hiring?"

—

"I was supposed to work today. My dad's probably freaking out." Hiccup said as he unlocked the front door of his house, Astrid in tow.

"Don't worry, it'll work out." Astrid reassured. "By the time he gets home we will have replaced your car with an exact replica. You'll be tucked in bed— oh, here's a doctors note— and you'll just give him the excuse we went over. Okay?"

"I should have told you from the beginning." Hiccup said as they walked to his room. "I'm a terrible liar."

"You better make it work, Hiccup." Astrid said sternly. "If we're going to pretend to be a couple as our cover, you're going to be lying all the time."

"I'm still not so sure about that..."

"How else are we going to explain why we're spending so much time together? Especially after going on one date. This is the best solution. You're going to have to get used to the deceit if you want to remain here."

"Yeah, okay." Hiccup was resigned. He would have to deal because he was not leaving.

"Now get into bed. You still have a concussion. You should rest for the next couple days." Astrid instructed. "I'll make you some food in your kitchen and bring it in here. Make it look like I've been taking care of you all day."

—

Stoick called his son's phone for probably the millionth time that day as Gobber drove him and Snotlout to the Haddock home.

"I still don't see how you're allowed to drive, Gobber." Snotlout said to break the tension.

"Hey! I drive better with two prosthetics than some of you four-limbed idiots." Gobber replied.

"He's still not answering!" Stoick yelled, ready to throw his phone in frustration, but holding back just in case Hiccup decided to call him back.

"Maybe he's back home now." Gobber tried to reassure him.

"But why would he skip work and not answer my calls?"

"What if they hit it off and decided to elope?" Snotlout offered from the backseat.

"Shut up or you get out and walk." Stoick threatened.

"Look, your car is back." Gobber pointed out as he pulled into a spot by the curb.

Stoick launched himself out of the car before it even came to a complete stop and raced to his house. He fumbled with his keys, growling in frustration, before opening the door.

"Hiccup? Hiccup!" Stoick frantically looked around the house. There were lights on in the kitchen. Some used pots and pans and a few dirty dishes in the sink. Stoick decided to look for his son in his room. Before entering he paused and knocked, a thought occurring to him. What if Hiccup still had company? He decided that he didn't care. Hiccup lost his right to privacy if he couldn't be responsible and let his father know what was going on and that he was okay.

"Hiccup? I'm coming in!" Stoick opened the door and found Hiccup laying in bed, back to him, apparently sleeping. Suddenly frustrated, Stoick stormed over to the bed and yanked the covers off of his son.

Hiccup yelped in surprise, waking up in an instant, and turned in the direction of his father. By this point Gobber and Snotlout had finally caught up and stood behind Stoick.

"Do you know how-" Stoick's eyes widened when he saw the nasty bruise and the bandage on the side of Hiccup's face. After a moment he moved to his son's side for a better look. "What happened?!"

"Did she beat you up?" Snotlout asked with curiosity. Astrid looked tough enough to beat someone up.

"No, don't be stupid." Hiccup answered with exasperation. "I... was hit by a car..."

"You were hit-" Stoick didn't think he could be more worried than he was. "Are you okay? Should I take you to a doctor?"

"The car looked fine." Gobber observed, pointing out the inconsistency in Hiccup's story.

"Yes. I mean no." Hiccup tried to answer all of the questions. "It happened while we were walking back to the car after dinner. They weren't going that fast, so I just fell and hit my head kind of hard."

"I'm taking you to the hospital." Stoick started to get up.

"No! I'm fine!" All three of them gave Hiccup a look, like they hadn't heard him say that plenty of times before. "No, really. I mean it this time. Astrid already took me to a doctor. See? I have a doctor's note. Then she took me back to her place."

"Nice." Snotlout commented smugly.

"Shut up Snotlout, it wasn't like that." Hiccup glared at his cousin. "The doctor said I have a concussion and somebody had to wake me up every couple of hours and she volunteered to take care of me. She drove me back here earlier today, made us some lunch, and took a cab back home about an hour ago when I assured her that you would be home soon and that I would be okay."

"Only you could manage such a crazy first date." Gobber said with exasperation, after a moment of silence. "But she must like you, to put up with all that. So, congratulations."

"You're okay then?" Stoick asked, concern in his voice.

"Yes, I'll be okay." Hiccup assured.

"Then... why didn't you answer your phone?!" Stoick let his frustration out. "Do you know how worried I was? All day the worst scenarios have been playing through my head!"

"I'm sorry!" Hiccup raised his hands in a placating manner. "Really! I didn't mean to worry you. I don't even know what happened to my phone. I think it broke when I fell. This really hasn't been a good week for me and electronics."

"You could have called me with her phone! I happen to know she has a working one, courtesy of you!" Stoick pointed out angrily. His anger came from a place of concern for his son. He had been worrying all day.

"Right. Yes. That would have been a smart idea." Hiccup agreed. "Had I been in the right state of mind, I probably would have done that."

Stoick sighed, finally calming down. "Alright, that's fair. I'm just glad that you're safe and back home."

"I am so sorry, dad." Hiccup said sincerely. He really didn't want to worry his father, especially since he knew his dad was always so afraid of losing him too, after losing his mom.

"No, I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault." Stoick looked down. "It's been a long and stressful day."

"How about Snotlout and I go get dinner started?" Gobber ushered him out the door, giving the father and son some privacy.

"So... the date went well then?" Stoick asked, a teasing smile on his face.

"Up until I got hit by a car, yeah. Sure." Hiccup gave his dad a look of amused exasperation at the new line of questioning.

"Hey, a girl doesn't leap at the chance to stay up all night taking care of someone they just met if she doesn't like you." Stoick pointed out.

"I guess." Hiccup sounded unsure.

"Then take them to her home and continue to take care of them." Stoick pressed, hoping to help Hiccup understand that there were people out there who liked him and would be good friends, or girlfriends.

"Okay, you're right!" Hiccup laughed, giving in. "We plan on going out again. When I'm no longer on bed rest."

"Bed rest?" Stoick wondered if Hiccup's condition was worse than he let on.

"As per Astrid's instructions..." Hiccup looked awkwardly away from his dad as Stoick burst into laughter.

"That girl really likes you." Stoick said with a broad smile.

"Yeah, it would seem that way." Hiccup smiled back, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

—

A week after all the excitement, Stoick finally allowed Hiccup to go back to work, with the condition that he sit at the Nerd Herd desk for the whole shift. The bruise was fading and a scab had formed over the cut he had. He looked a lot better and he felt much better too. Even the insistent headache that had been bothering him ever since opening Eret's e-mail had begun to fade. Hiccup really hoped that it wouldn't return.

"I am so glad that you and your dad are back. Dagur was a nightmare." Snotlout was once again, leaning on the Nerd Herd desk instead of doing his job.

"I can't imagine why he would give you such a hard time." Hiccup said with sarcasm, although it went over Snotlout's head.

"I know, right?" Snotlout readily agreed. Hiccup rolled his eyes at him. A motion that no longer made him dizzy, and a good thing too, because he rolled his eyes a lot around his cousin. "Did Uncle Stoick really need to take the whole week off?"

"No, and I told him as much. But he insisted on staying home and taking care of me. He told me that head injuries are serious and he wanted to be home with me." Hiccup had actually been rather touched by his father's insistence, and the caring nature that he had allowed to show through.

"Well isn't that sweet." A new voice interrupted their conversation.

"Good morning, Dagur." Hiccup greeted with absolutely no enthusiasm, not even bothering to look up from the papers he was looking through at his desk.

"Snotface." Dagur didn't even acknowledge Hiccup. "You'll be training our newest employee."

Hiccup finally looked up, curiosity getting the better of him. When he looked just past Dagur, he couldn't help the amused smile that came to his face as he met eyes with Throk. His glare was contrasted by how ridiculous he looked in the Buy More green polo he wore.

"This is Throk. He'll be shadowing you today. So do your job and do it right." Snotlout didn't seem all that worried by Dagur's words.

"Yeah. Okay. He's in good hands." Snotlout responded as he led Throk away.

Dagur gave Hiccup a condescending look. Hiccup reciprocated with a bored expression until Dagur finally walked away, leaving Hiccup to get back to his paperwork.

"So, your cousin is training Throk. I feel like he deserves that."

Hiccup looked back up to see Astrid at the counter. "Yeah, he's not going to learn anything."

"I'm sure Throk can handle a retail job in sales." Astrid laughed lightly.

"What about you? Not eager to join the Buy More team?"

"I think our cover would work best if I'm not always in the store with you. You'll be safe with Throk. Besides, I won't be far away." Astrid pointed to the doors. "We bought that empty building across the parking lot. It's going to be our base. It'll have a cover, not sure what just yet. Maybe a frozen yogurt place or a pet supply store. I'll pretend to work there."

"A secret base, huh?" Hiccup leaned forward. "Does that mean it gets a code name?"

"Sure, why not? What should we call it?" Astrid decided to humor him.

"Dragon's Edge." Hiccup answered immediately. Astrid lifted an eyebrow at him. "I've decided to keep up with the whole dragon theme. What's with that anyway?"

"I don't know, I didn't name any of it." Astrid shrugged. CIA code names had a tendency to be weird and off-the-wall unique. But, it prevented anyone from knowing what they stood for, which was the point.

"Is Mala secretly a geek for mythological creatures?" Hiccup asked, bluntly.

"Hiccup!" Astrid laughed. Normally talking about an authoritative figure like that would be disrespectful. But... there was something about Hiccup, and she got the impression that he was honestly curious, not trying to be rude. "Actually... I could see that. Anyway, I should head back to, uh, Dragon's Edge. Got a lot of work to do setting things up."

Hiccup just smiled at her. She stood there for a moment longer, looking at him, before waving and walking away. As she reached the doors, she pulled out her phone and brought it to her ear, looking over her shoulder, before exiting.

Hiccup gasped, a slight throb erupting in his head. Images flashed though his mind. Of Astrid. _Surveillance photos of Astrid holding a phone to her ear. Footage of Astrid casually taking a gun out from her pocket, shooting the person she was walking past, and hiding the gun away, all without breaking a stride as she held the phone to her ear._

Hiccup sat frozen in his chair, eyes wide. What had he gotten himself into?

—

A/N: This concludes episode 1 of "Hiccup." There will be more to come! Thanks for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing!


	4. Hiccup Vs The Doctor

A/N: Merry Christmas! Sorry it has been so long since I updated this story. It is not abandoned, it just takes a lot of thought for each chapter because of all the spy stuff and having to leave clues or hints about things, and referencing episodes of "Chuck" while also trying to make it my own thing.

This story is difficult to write sometimes. I also got caught up in writing my other fan fictions, "What Lies Beneath" and "Deviation."

—

Episode 2, Part 1: Hiccup Vs. The Doctor

Sten wasn't quite sure how he had gotten involved in this whole mess to begin with. He had needed a job, a friend of a friend had hooked him up. He had said it was in "security." Now Sten found himself making his third lap around the dreary warehouse holding some kind of rifle —that he mostly knew how to use— while a team of people loaded wooden crates into the backs of trucks.

The young, inexperienced man had decided that he didn't want to know what was inside the mysterious crates. The less he knew the better, and he already knew more than he wanted. His job was simply to keep watch and alert the ones in charge if there was an intruder. Apparently, that was easier said than done.

As Sten meandered to the dark recesses of the warehouse to do a check on the side doors he suddenly found himself devoid of his weapon. Before he could think twice about what had just happened his face was pressed into a wall with his right arm pinned painfully behind his back.

"Don't make a sound, or I snap your arm." A firm, feminine voice whispered in his ear.

"Whoa! Don't do that!" A quiet, but panicked voice said from somewhere behind him.

"Don't be such a wuss." Another male voice nearly growled, reprimanding the former speaker. "Why is he here? Why did we bring him again?"

"Shut up you two! I swear..." The woman sounded exasperated. "He's here because he has the information we need."

"Please don't... Ah!" Sten reminded the group of three that he was still there, cut off by a painful pressure on his arm.

"Quiet! What's in those crates?" The woman demanded.

"I... I don't know." Sten answered honestly, desperately wishing he had never taken this job.

"Liar." She applied more pressure, making his body jerk in protest.

"No! Really! I'm just temporary security. Once they leave, my job is done." Sten informed them. Hopefully, the more information he gave, the less likely it would be that they would hurt him. "They said the most important thing they plan on smuggling, hasn't been brought in yet."

"I think he's telling the truth." The nice one spoke up, Sten hoped the nice one could convince the others.

"You would." The third deeper voice muttered.

Sten was suddenly yanked over to a wooden beam and he felt handcuffs close around his wrists. "...don't hurt me, please."

"Hiccup. Watch him and stay here." The woman who had subdued him turned out to be a pretty blonde in black clothes. "Throk. Let's go."

"Uh... okay." Hiccup, the nice one, responded as he watched them sneak off to apprehend the other mercenaries. Hiccup was still new at this whole, going on missions thing. Usually, he was forced to wait in the car, not that that ever worked out for anyone. This time was a step up, he was left to babysit.

"Is she going to kill me?" Sten had to ask, the blond one was intimidating.

"Um... Well. I want to say no..." Hiccup's response was not reassuring like he had hoped it would be.

"What? I didn't intend to get caught up in all of this! I swear!" He was starting to freak out.

"Shhhh! Be quiet!" Hiccup moved closer to him and slapped a hand over Sten's mouth. "Your chances are definitely higher if you cooperate!"

Sten wiggled his head around, trying to scream for help through the fingers grasping his mouth. He really didn't want to die because of some stupid job he shouldn't have accepted.

"Ugh! Gross! Did you just lick me?!" Hiccup pulled his hand away. "Why would you do that?"

"Help! They're going to kill me! Intru-" Sten was cut off as Hiccup punched the side of his face in panic. Sten fell unconscious and Hiccup looked at his closed fist with wide eyes. He had never punched someone before, he didn't think it would be that effective coming from him.

"I'm so sorry...!" Hiccup felt bad and apologized to the unconscious form. He didn't want to hurt anyone, but he also didn't want Astrid and Throk to be given away.

The sound of shooting erupted from behind him and Hiccup whipped around in the direction that Astrid and Throk had gone. His eyes widened in fear as he worried for their safety. He hadn't shushed the security guard fast enough.

He hated this part of what they did— the waiting and the uncertainty. What if he could help in some way? Astrid had told him to stay put— that was what they always told him. He usually listened... but they were outnumbered and Astrid had left the security guard's rifle behind...

Hiccup stood still and waited as he listened for any sign of what was happening out there, the sounds of struggle and the occasional gunshot didn't cease. With a determined expression, Hiccup snatched the weapon and cautiously followed the route of his spy companions.

He rushed from crate to crate, ducking for cover as he wandered further into the warehouse, the sounds of battle getting closer. When he peered around a particularly big crate he saw that most of the adversaries had been taken out. However, one was holed up on one side of the building while Throk took cover on the other. He didn't know where Astrid was, and that worried him. He needed to make sure she was okay and see if she needed assistance.

Every once in a while someone would brave taking a shot, but the situation was going nowhere. Making up his mind, Hiccup observed his surroundings until he discovered a relatively safe path from where he stood, to where the remaining bad guy was hiding. He ducked down and moved quickly but quietly along his route, weaving between obstacles. However, before he could round the last corner and make it to his goal, he heard a scuffle.

"Where's your boss? Is he here?" Hiccup tilted is head to peer around the crate he was taking cover behind. Astrid was interrogating the remaining bad guy. She had him at gun point, his back to Hiccup.

"Ha!" The man laughed. "He only shows up when the important merchandise arrives."

"So, there's more coming in?" Astrid pressed for more answers.

"Only one thing." The guy laughed again.

"One what?" Astrid asked.

"Something very important." The man said, being aggravatingly vague. "Coming in with a special client, a trader of sorts."

"A deal? For what?" Astrid stepped closer, holding the gun level so the guy knew she meant business and would pull the trigger if necessary.

"You think they trust me with information like that?" The guy asked skeptically. "All I know is it sounded like it was a computer or something."

The man wasn't able to finish as a gunshot rang out through the warehouse. The guy sputtered for a moment as he swayed on his feet, then fell to the ground. Astrid barely had enough time to react as she was shot at. She dived to the ground and rolled, but as she brought her weapon up to shoot back, it was kicked out of her hands.

A more menacing looking man was looming over her with a gun, he kicked her back, so she was sprawled out and vulnerable and she grunted as she fell back, though she held her intense glare.

"Can't have you reporting back about our boss." The man said with a smirk.

—

In all the time that he had been working with Astrid and Throk— which admittedly had only been a few weeks and a mission here and there— Hiccup had always been left in the car, or at base. He had never witnessed such an intense situation. It had seemed like Astrid had things under control, so Hiccup had stayed put. But then he had watched as someone got shot, right in front of him. Hiccup had gasped in fear and drew himself back behind the crate, gripping the weapon in his hands and trying to prevent himself from panicking.

Now, Hiccup was torn. Astrid had been disarmed and knocked down, she was about to be killed. Hiccup was peeking around the crate again, eyes wide. He was rooting for her to do some kind of awesome fight move or something, to gain the advantage again. But he knew hope was futile. The man was ready to shoot and she was completely vulnerable. Throk was no where in sight.

Hiccup had to make a decision, and quick. A determined expression came over his face. He wouldn't let Astrid die, he wouldn't be able to handle watching such a thing, and he really liked her. She had done so much for him, the least he could do was help her out.

—

"So you're not the boss, then?" Astrid mocked. "Just some lackey who moves crates around."

"I'm the one in charge of operations like this." The man allowed her to egg him on, wanting to prove his importance.

"Great job. All your employees have been taken down, it's just you." Astrid kept talking, trying to buy time. "My partner is out there. Whatever happens to me, you're not getting out of here."

The man growled and took a step forward as he raised his gun with resolve. Before Astrid could try anything to get out of the situation, there was a loud _thunk_. She narrowed her eyes in confusion as the man lowered his weapon and staggered, tripping on the body of his fallen comrade, and falling to the ground, to reveal Hiccup to have been standing behind him.

"I don't know how to use this thing, so I just..." He swung the rifle in his hand like a bat in demonstration, his expression resembling that of a child who just got caught doing something he shouldn't have done.

"Clear!" They heard Throk's voice echo from somewhere else in the building.

"Clear!" Astrid called back as she got to her feet. She gave Hiccup a look as she snatched the rifle from him. She looked down at the guy she had been trying to get answers from earlier and sighed. She had been so close to getting important information. If they interrogated him, he would likely be less forthcoming. Without saying anything, Astrid gestured for Hiccup to follow her to the trucks that had been being loaded with crates.

"Want to see what the all-knowing Dragon Master uncovered?" Throk asked, a completely unimpressed look on his face. He moved to the side as Hiccup and Astrid looked into a crate, Throk had pried the top off before they got there.

"Animals...?" Astrid asked, surprised.

"Aw..." Hiccup cooed. "Look at their big ears."

"What are they?" Astrid wondered as she looked at the cute, but odd creatures.

"They're called fennec foxes." Hiccup answered.

"What they are, is a waste of our time." Throk interrupted their conversation. "When you flashed on that guy's face the other day, you said he was an illegal smuggler. This is below our pay grade. I thought you were leading us to a weapon's dealer. Maybe someone who sold drugs."

"All I saw was that the CIA had an incomplete file on someone who was suspected to be illegally smuggling things in and out of the country. I told you everything I knew!"

"And we uncovered an illegal pet trade. Aren't you the useful one?" Throk insulted.

"Whoa! Whose intelligence is in my head? Oh, the CIA's. Maybe if your organization was better at their jobs I would have had a complete file in my brain instead of a partial one!"

"Gods! You two are insufferable!" Astrid butted in, still frustrated about earlier. "Throk, this may seem like a small operation, but I was interrogating one of the smugglers. He said their boss had a bigger deal going on."

"When? Where?" Throk demanded.

"I don't know, he was killed by one of the other smugglers before I could get the rest of the info." Astrid answered with a huff. "It had to have been important, to silence someone like that."

"Doesn't matter now." Throk growled. "Their boss won't come back here, not now. He's lost to us and we're stuck with crates of animals."

"We stopped part of his operation, I'm sure that'll make a dent in things." Astrid pointed out. "So, let's just call this one in and take the win, okay?"

"I'll make the call." Throk threw Hiccup a look of disdain, then walked away. Hiccup glared after him before turning back to look in the crate of furry animals.

"The exotic pet trade is actually pretty serious, you know." Hiccup said conversationally.

"I know Hiccup. Don't mind Throk, he's still pouting over this new assignment. He used to get big, important missions. Now he's in Berkeley, California protecting a civilian and working at the Buy More."

Hiccup turned back to her and nodded. He knew he was the reason for Throk's moodiness and felt kind of bad, but before he could say anything a movement caught their eye.

"Stay back..."Astrid warned as she put a hand on her holstered weapon. "And I mean it this time."

Hiccup stood back as Astrid carefully stepped closer to a vehicle. She tilted her head and bent down to look underneath, expecting to find one of the smugglers hiding. Instead, a black, furry creature darted out from underneath and ran past her. Astrid watched in surprise as the startled animal went in Hiccup's direction. He took a startled step back at the sudden movement.

It was a black fox with emerald, green eyes and a white tip on its fluffy tail. It's quick movements slowed as it's limp caught up to it. The adrenaline that got it running in the first place wore off and the creature collapsed to the ground, panting.

"Oh... you poor thing." Hiccup cautiously walked toward it, crouching to the ground.

"Hiccup, he careful. That's a wild animal."

Hiccup sat down and scooted closer to the furry creature. The fox gave a half-hearted growl as Hiccup reached out a hand, causing him to hesitate. They stayed that way, looking into each other's eyes— both emerald green and reflecting back their fears, both wishing for something better in life— before the black fox blinked slowly and accepted the touch.

Gaining confidence, Hiccup took off his jacket, laid it in his lap, and gently scooped up the fox onto it.

"Hiccup!" Astrid reprimanded, exasperated with his constant risk taking.

"Astrid, it's fine. Look, he just wants a friend." Hiccup reassured while petting the fox's head, but Astrid looked like she wanted to grab Hiccup and drag him away from the creature.

"Just be careful. I swear you're trying to get yourself killed with the way you've been behaving today."

"His back leg is injured. It's bleeding." Hiccup ignored her reprimand. "What's going to happen to all these animals?"

"I don't know. Maybe some of them will go to rescues, reserves, or zoos." Astrid said with a sigh, giving into Hiccup's current interest and putting aside the lecture on safety. For now. "Any injured or sick might be put down."

"What?!" Hiccup looked up at her with righteous anger.

"Budgets for rehabilitating animals are tight. They don't get the funding they need. The healthy ones will get help, the others..." She trailed off, giving him a sympathetic look. Hiccup looked down at the injured animal in his lap.

"No." Hiccup said firmly.

"Uh... what?" Astrid asked in confusion.

"He's coming with me. I'll take him to a vet." It was decided, Hiccup wouldn't have it any other way.

"Whoa. Hiccup, no. You can't." She hadn't expected him to decide on taking in some wild animal.

"Why not?" Hiccup was petting the thing now, stroking it's fur gently and holding it close. The fox didn't protest, almost seeming to like the attention.

"Didn't you just say that the exotic pet trade is serious? And what, now you want an exotic pet?" Astrid tried to reason with him.

"Silver foxes aren't exotic to the US." Hiccup argued.

"He's still a wild animal!"

"Who was taken from his natural habitat, treated badly, and injured. He didn't ask for this. He's an innocent victim! And now you're saying that people are just going to give up on him now? He's just a casualty to circumstance?" Hiccup's voice began to grow louder as he got more passionate.

"Hiccup... what's this really about?" She put a hand on her hip and gave him a look.

"What do you mean? This is about saving this little guy's life." Hiccup wasn't about to confide in his CIA handler about all of his complicated feelings that had been building up over the past couple years, his current situation with the secret service not helping.

"I'm not sure..." She didn't push, but tried to voice her doubts.

"You owe me this." Hiccup was resolute.

"How do you figure?"

"I've cooperated. I do what you say, I tag along on missions, I give you information. I haven't asked for anything! I haven't complained. Tell Director Mala that this silver fox is mine now. I'm going to take care of him and give him a good home and she can handle the legalities of it."

"You didn't do what I told you, _today_." Astrid pointed out.

"I saved your life!"

"Hiccup." Astrid looked exasperated but Hiccup remained determined. "Fine. I'll talk to Mala. We'll take that thing to a vet. We'll see what happens. But you have to promise to listen to me. I need you to trust me to get the job done, without interfering. Your safety is important."

"Okay. I promise." Hiccup agreed, though he was glad he had been there to help Astrid out today.

Astrid sat down next to Hiccup. She let the fox sniff her hand before attempting to pet its head. "I admit... this little guy seems to like you."

"I've always had a way with animals. I almost wanted to be a vet, but chemistry and biology aren't my best subjects." Hiccup told her.

"You know what? I can see that." Astrid laughed, the tension gone.

"What? Me being bad at science?" Hiccup pretended to be offended.

"No... you being an animal person." Astrid smiled at his antics, then lightly tapped his shoulder with her fist, eliciting a smile from him. "So... aren't silver foxes supposed to be... silver?"

"Not necessarily. Silver foxes usually have a mixture of white and black fur, giving the appearance of a silver color. But some are more black than others, like this one. Silver foxes are just a melanistic form of a red fox."

"And there's that nerdiness seeping through. It's a wonder you didn't do well in science." She teased.

"Very funny. Someone's developed a sense of humor." He teased back.

"I am very funny, I'll have you know." She boasted, and Hiccup didn't respond. He looked straight ahead, trying to keep a straight face. Astrid laughed again and Hiccup finally gave in, joining her as they waited for their back-up to arrive.

—

Hiccup snuck along the side of his house, stopping at his ground floor window. He pushed it open from the outside, having left it unlocked for this very purpose, and climbed into his bedroom.

Astrid had dropped him off at home after an emergency trip to the vet and a stop at her place for a change of clothes. The vet had said that she would need to keep the fox overnight, the injury to its leg was pretty serious. She would keep him updated, but amputation was more than likely. The fox wouldn't survive long in the wild with just three legs, so it was looking like Hiccup's place was to be its new home.

Hiccup planned on breaking the news to his father later. At the moment he was more concerned with making it seem like he hadn't been out with Astrid since the day before. Not that his dad would have minded. Hiccup was an adult and capable of making his own decisions. But Hiccup didn't want his dad to think that his and Astrid's fake relationship was progressing that fast. If their cover as boyfriend and girlfriend was to hold up for an indefinite amount of time, they needed to seem to be taking it slow.

The sun was just barely starting to rise, giving the interior of the house a dim light. Stoick was an early riser and would likely be up soon, so Hiccup quickly slipped into some comfortable clothes that he usually wore to bed, and crawled under the covers.

He had been laying there for maybe fifteen minutes, just beginning to relax into sleep, when a curt knock to the door, followed by it being thrown wide open, startled him completely awake.

"Oh! So you are home." Stoick observed.

"Mmhmm..." Hiccup replied lazily, relaxing again and sinking back into his bed. He just wanted to get some sleep after the long day and all-nighter.

"I thought you'd spent the night with Astrid. Haven't seen you in a while."

"Huh? No. We just started dating a couple weeks ago..." Hiccup's eyes started to close, he couldn't keep them open.

"You do spend a lot of time together. Things seem to be getting serious between you two."

"Maybe..."

"Look, Hiccup. I know your instinct is going to be to take it slow and be cautious, but... don't push her away because you're afraid to open up to new people. Put a little trust in her, see what happens."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Hiccup agreed as he forced his eyes open again.

"In the meantime." Stoick broke into a smile. "I rarely see you around anymore and I've never actually met Astrid. I've only seen her in passing at the Buy More. I want you to invite her over for dinner tomorrow."

"Um... okay. I'll do that. Just promise me you won't be the one cooking."

"I'll make Gobber cook. He wants to meet her too." Stoick gave a hearty laugh at Hiccup's comment. "I'm leaving for work in a couple hours, so be ready."

Hiccup gave a groan and covered his face with the blanket. So much for sleep. As his dad was about to retreat out the door Hiccup quickly spoke up, his voice muffled, "Oh, and I adopted a pet."

There was silence as Stoick paused in the doorway, Hiccup was content to remain hidden under his covers.

"What was that?"

Peeking his head out, he met his father's eyes. "I... rescued an animal. He's at a vet's office right now. I'm bringing him home in a couple days."

"What kind of animal? Please say it's a cat, they're easier to care for."

"A fox..." Hiccup said as quietly as he could.

"A what? Speak up Hiccup."

"A fox! I'm bringing home a three-legged fox!"

Stoick didn't know how to respond. Whatever his son's answer was going to be, that certainly wasn't what he was expecting. "Do foxes even live around here?"

"Yeah." Hiccup answered confidently, then lowered his voice again. "Probably..."

"Is that even safe? Don't they have places for animals like that to go?"

"They do, but he had a severe injury to his back, left leg. Chances are he would be put down because of medical costs. I already took him to see a vet. They're going to help me get a license to keep him since he wouldn't make it on his own with an amputation."

"I don't know, Hiccup. It sounds dangerous."

"He was very nice! I promise he won't be a problem. Just give him a chance."

"Alright, fine." Stoick gave in with a sigh. "But if it doesn't work out you find a place for him to go."

"Okay."

It looked as if Stoick had more he wanted to say, but after a moment, he finally retreated out the door, closing it behind him. Hiccup sighed in relief. Maybe having a soft, furry pet to come home to after a long and stressful day would help him to relax. He would need that, he knew the next couple days were going to be eventful.

—

Hiccup jolted up in surprise at the sudden feeling of falling forward. Wide awake for a couple seconds before resting his head back on his hand lazily as he sat at the Nerd Herd desk.

"You should get more sleep." Throk's voice reached his ears. Hiccup turned his head lazily to look at the CIA agent, standing on the other side of the counter.

"How are you not exhausted? Do you even sleep, like ever?"

"Of course I do. Don't be ridiculous." Throk replied impatiently. "I'm used to running on less sleep than you. It's part of my job."

"Right. Of course, excuse me." Hiccup responded. "If that is all... I was getting some important work done. Or, at least, I was trying to make it look like I was."

"I have important information to relay to you." Throk was all business.

"Oh? You mean you didn't come over here just to socialize?"

"This is very important. You should take it more seriously." Throk reprimanded. Hiccup responded by giving him a look. "We might have found someone who can help you."

"What?" Hiccup perked up. "You mean...?"

"Yes. There's a possibility of getting that thing out of your head." They were speaking vaguely, just in case. "He will need to run a couple tests first. To be sure."

"Okay, when?" Hiccup tried not to get his hopes up. He could get back to his life. Not that it had been much of a life before all of this... but he wanted some normalcy.

"Tonight. After we get off work at this infernal store." Throk glared at their surroundings. "Meet at Dragon's Edge. Tell anyone who asks that you have another date with Astrid."

"Okay..." Hiccup had a couple more questions, but Throk was already walking away.

—

Hiccup walked across the parking lot from the Buy More to Dragon's Edge at the end of his shift. He had told his dad to go home without him because he was meeting up with Astrid. Which had of course, resulted in some teasing.

Upon reaching the building, recently purchased by the CIA, Hiccup realized that he hadn't actually been inside yet, as Astrid and Throk had been setting things up. At least, they had told him that they were. Peering through the glass windows, he saw plenty of empty shelves and piles of boxes. It didn't look like much. Maybe that was part of the disguise.

The door was unlocked, which seemed rather neglectful for a secret base, and Hiccup let himself in.

"Hiccup. It's just you." Astrid appeared around a shelf, her hand hovering over a holstered weapon at her waist.

"This place doesn't seem very secure to me." Hiccup pointed out.

"It's a work in progress. I left the door unlocked for you since I knew you were coming. The cameras are installed, but I haven't gotten them hooked to the monitors yet." Her stance became less defensive and more relaxed as they talked. "You did trigger a motion detector when you approached the building though, that's how I knew you were here."

"More secure than it appears, then." Hiccup let his gaze wander around the room. "This is not how I imagined a secret base to look."

"This area will be the last part to be put together. I decided to make it a pet supply store as it's disguise. The secret base stuff you want to see is downstairs."

"Downstairs? So it's also bigger than it looks." Hiccup tried to seem uninterested, but he was just too curious. "Do I get to see the downstairs?"

"That's where we'll be doing the tests." She smiled at his excitement. "Come on."

Astrid led the way to a back room that had a door with a fancy lock on it. She held up a badge to a scanner that beeped and allowed them entrance. As they descended the stairs on the other side of the door, it was as if they had entered a completely different place. It went from small time business to high-tech, spy base.

"This is more like it." Hiccup complimented as he took in his new surroundings. "But how... the logistics don't make sense... the basement is bigger than the building."

"We've made some alterations." Astrid replied vaguely. "It may not look like it when you're upstairs, but we have made a lot of progress with our base."

"And yet, you don't even have the cameras plugged in yet." Hiccup mock reprimanded her. Astrid cocked an eyebrow at him, a small smile on her face.

"If you're done with the tour, he'll be here soon." Throk appeared from another room.

"The guy who can help me?" Hiccup asked.

"Doctor Johann, who may be able to help you." Throk clarified.

"He's one of the CIA's best scientists. He helped with the encoding process of the Alpha Dragon." Astrid explained. "He said that he had a theory on how to extract it from your mind. He just needs to run some tests first. He's going to examine you."

"What do you mean by 'examine?' Like, needles and probing?" Hiccup wasn't sure what to expect.

"This is the best chance you have at getting your life back. Isn't that what you want?" Astrid's demeanor changed ever so slightly. It was as if she was a little bitter at the notion that he didn't want to work with them anymore. "To get the secrets out of your head?"

"Um, well. Yes." Hiccup replied hesitantly. "But you're being rather vague about the probing and I'd very much like an answer to that question..."

Astrid grabbed his wrist and led him into another room. The space was gray and mostly empty. It was small and square with a simple table with a laptop atop it, and a black, cushioned chair. Astrid rolled the chair out from under the desk and indicated for him to take a seat. Hiccup obliged, then looked up at her with a concerned look. With a sigh, Astrid's face softened.

"Hiccup, it'll be okay." She reassured him. "Just watch this screen. When images appear, just tell us what you see."

"That's it?" Hiccup thought the process would be more complicated than that.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to screw it up." Throk commented from behind them, standing in the doorway.

"You'll be fine." Astrid threw Throk a glare over her shoulder. "I'll be just on the other side of that wall."

"I'll be in here on my own, with the doctor, then?" Hiccup wasn't thrilled about that idea, and it showed.

"No." Astrid answered.

"Please don't tell me that it'll be me, a doctor, and Throk." That would be even worse.

"You're not meeting the doctor." Astrid finally told him.

"I'm not?" Hiccup was confused. "Then how is this going to work?"

"We can't let anyone else know that you're the Dragon Master." Astrid explained. "You'll tell us your answers through this headset. Doctor Johann will hear your answers from another room. It's important that he doesn't see you. You're too valuable."

"Thanks. I'm flattered and totally freaked out." Hiccup took the headset and put it on.

Astrid gave him a reassuring smile before exiting and closing the door. The screen lit up, but remained blue and Hiccup waited for something to happen.

—

Astrid walked a few steps down the hall and turned into another room, set up with a computer and speakers. Throk was there, speaking with a man.

"Doctor Johann, this is Agent Hofferson." Throk introduced.

"Thanks for meeting us here." She greeted.

"Of course!" Doctor Johann replied enthusiastically. "I've travelled to many different places and met all kinds of different people. Berkeley, California is one of the more tame locations that I've been."

"Right." Astrid hoped to cut him off and get to business.

"However, it is unusual for me not to have interactions with my patient— that is the odd thing about this meeting. I always interact with the people I examine or work with. I don't see why I can't meet my patient. I always like meeting new people. You meet a lot of interesting people in my line of work."

"For your safety, and that of Patient X, it is best if you don't interact with one another." Astrid answered.

"And does Patient X live here, in Berkeley? Patient X, who knows _all_ of the Alpha Dragon's secrets— just hanging out in California while you two keep tabs on him? That is an interesting twist. The Dragon Master is supposed to be a spy, correct? Surely he can handle a face to face with his doctor?"

"You can get all the necessary information you need without meeting him." Throk told him sternly. "You will not be meeting Patient X."

"Alright, alright. Let's just begin." Doctor Johann pulled out a notebook and sat down in front of the computer. He pressed a button and spoke into a microphone.

"Patient X?"

—

Hiccup jumped in his seat as a voice came through his headset. He'd been waiting for a while and had zoned out. Patient X? He supposed that must be him.

"I'm here." Hiccup replied into the headset.

"We are about to begin." The voice said, probably Doctor Johann. "I'm going to show you a series of images and I want you to tell me the first thing that comes to mind. Just tell me what you see."

"Okay. I'm ready." Hiccup took a deep breath, not entirely sure why he was nervous. It was a rather simple thing to do. He supposed, that maybe he was afraid of what the results would show. What if this doctor could fix his head? Then what? He continues to work at the Buy More? He tells his dad that he and Astrid broke up and disappoint him further? He trudges through life without a purpose until he dies alone? Part of him wanted to keep working with the CIA. It gave him a purpose. It gave him hope for a better life than the one he had been enduring for the past couple years. And... he really liked Astrid.

"Patient X? Everything okay?" Doctor Johann's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Uh... yes! Sorry. I was thinking..." Hiccup sighed. And Throk had been right. He already found a way to screw up the test.

"That's okay. No need to be nervous. I remember back when I first started working for the CIA. It was a bit intimidating. Such important and urgent work to be done and I didn't want to mess up." Doctor Johann started rambling.

"Yeah..." Hiccup responded. "I really am ready now."

"Right, right." The CIA doctor got back on track. "Tell me what you see."

The screen changed from its blue state and an image appeared.

"Uh, that's a dog. A German Shepherd."

Another image. "A hippo..."

"Good, keep going." Johann encouraged.

"A man in a fedora." What random images. What was this supposed to prove anyway? "A woman on a beach."

Then, when the next image appeared, he felt that familiar throbbing in his head that indicated he was about to flash. It didn't hurt much anymore and the persistent headache he had when this all started had finally gone away, but it was still an overwhelming feeling.

"Cardinal One is the top Moscow spy in the White House office of—" The pictures continued to change as he talked and the information being triggered in his mind changed along with them. "...The plot to assassinate the President was orchestrated by— The Northdrop-Davis voting computers have been approved by the DNC, RNC, and CIA— Oceanic flight 815 was shot down by surface-to-air— work on subterranean— beneath Denver International Airport has reached phase four— Benedictine agents within the Vatican report— assassin still active— Scenario Five is—"

The image changed one more time. Hiccup shook his head and blinked.

"...okay, well that's just a tortoise."

The screen remained on the photo of the tortoise and no one responded through his headset. Hiccup assumed the test was over and he remained seated at the table, trying to clear his head. That was a lot of information all at once.

—

"Patient X is phenomenal." Doctor Johann said in awe, the microphone had been turned off. "All of our secrets in one person's head."

"Can you remove them, doctor?" Astrid asked.

"Yes. I think I just might be able to." Johann said. "I'll work on something and get back to you."

"If that is all. I can walk you out." Throk offered. Doctor Johann gathered his things and followed Throk. Astrid could hear him talking Throk's ear off all the way up the stairs and couldn't help an amused smile, the agent was likely very irritated by their guest. Once the sound of Johann's voice faded, she went to check on Hiccup.

The door to the room Hiccup was waiting in opened and he looked up to see Astrid. He slid the headset off, assuming that if she was here then he no longer needed it.

"So, how did it go? Did I pass the test?" Hiccup inquired, looking a little anxious.

"You did great, Hiccup. Is your head okay? I know that was a lot."

"Yeah, I'm fine. My head was spinning for a second, but it passed quickly."

"Let me know if something is wrong. Okay?" Astrid had some concern in her voice.

"I will, yeah. Um... so, can he fix me?" Hiccup wasn't sure what he wanted the answer to be.

"Doctor Johann is very hopeful. He's going to work on something and get back to us. We want to make sure that we get it right, so that you'll be okay." Astrid didn't think she was ready for this assignment to be over. She had worked with civilians before. She had worked with plenty of other men. But there was just something about Hiccup. He was different than anyone she had ever met. He had an affect on her.

"Okay." Hiccup nodded. Nothing was definite yet. "In the meantime... we just keep doing what we've been doing?"

"Yeah. That's the plan. Hopefully, he'll get back to us soon." Hopefully, she had a little longer before Hiccup was out of her life and they both moved on.

"Oh!" Hiccup suddenly remembered something. Astrid raised her eyebrows at the change in tone. "Before I forget... my dad wants me to invite you to dinner tomorrow. At my house. He wants to officially meet you."

"Oh, yeah. That's probably a good idea, anyway... for our cover." Astrid agreed.

"Yeah, our cover. That might not even be necessary anymore... when Doctor Johann gets back to us." Hiccup tried not to show his disappointment.

"Right..." Astrid's demeanor changed again, like before. She didn't seem quite happy with the prospect and Hiccup wondered if maybe she looked down on him because she thought he didn't want to see this through. An agent like her must consider such an act cowardly. If she were in his shoes, she wouldn't try to find a way out. Hiccup wanted to tell her that he wanted to keep doing this, that he was willing to keep working with the CIA, but they probably didn't want to keep babysitting him forever. Project Alpha Dragon had been meant for the best of the CIA agents, not him.

"I... don't have a car. My dad took it home." Hiccup decided to change the subject. "Unless you want to take pity on me and drive me home like a good, fake girlfriend. I guess I'm walking. Or... camping out at the Buy More."

"I can drive you home." Astrid smiled, his comment pulling her out of her sudden mood. "We can even stop for food on the way. Make it look like we actually did something. Besides, you're probably hungry. I know I am."

She led the way back out of the little bunker, hidden underneath the future pet supply store. They passed Throk on the way out, who nodded in acknowledgement at them.

"Will this be an actual, functioning pet store? Or just like, a fake one?" Hiccup asked as they walked past empty shelves.

"It would be a little suspicious if it didn't ever open or sell anything." Astrid seemed amused.

"I don't know how these things work." Hiccup defended himself. "Can you run a pet store and do secret agent stuff at the same time?"

"I am a master at multi-tasking." Astrid replied. "Although, you have a point. I do have my hands full, keeping an eye on you."

"I am very cooperative. And I don't do much." Hiccup protested. "So, if you can't handle me then you must be one poor secret agent."

"Oh! Wow." Astrid pretended to be offended. "If you consider what you do, 'not doing much,' then I would hate to see what it looks like when you try to get into trouble."

"How are your customer service skills?" Hiccup asked while laughing. "I bet this place gets terrible, one-star reviews because 'The blond woman in charge is intimidating and rude.'"

"Psh, I don't need good reviews. Do people really need someone to hold their hand while buying dog food? It's not hard, you come in and you either buy something or you don't. That's all there is to it."

"I hope my safety doesn't depend on this place doing well, because you are going to offend anyone who walks through this door..."

—

Once Throk had made it downstairs, he decided that he would finally get around to connecting the camera cables to the monitors and the speakers, he was beginning to wish that he had held off on that task, though. He heard every bit of Hiccup and Astrid's banter as they walked through the store and it didn't stop until they were a distance away from the front doors.

"Those two have it bad for each other..." He muttered as he rolled his eyes and got back to work.

—

Astrid had just dropped Hiccup off at his house. They ended up spending several hours together before she had driven him home. That hadn't been the plan, but they had been having a good time, there were no current pressing CIA matters, and they were supposed to be on a "date," anyway.

Before she could pull away from the curb, her phone started ringing. She looked at the lit up screen and saw that it was Throk.

"Yes?" She answered curtly.

"I'm going to send you an address, meet me there. Don't bring Hiccup, he doesn't need to see this." Throk's voice came through with an urgent tone.

"What's going on?"

"Doctor Johann has been in an accident." Throk hung up the phone, not really one for drawing out conversations. Especially when there was work to be done.

After glancing at the address, Astrid pulled out of her parking spot and drove urgently, to meet up with Throk.

As she she got closer to the designated meet up, she saw a plume of smoke rising from a back road. She was able to find her way without consulting the address further. She stopped her car in the middle of the road and got out. She could see Throk standing by the wreckage of a vehicle.

"What happened?" Astrid demanded as she approached the other CIA agent.

"The car exploded. No signs of Johann's body. He was probably vaporized." Throk said without much emotion.

"He's dead...?" Astrid raised an eyebrow and tried not to show her shock.

"I guess those secrets are staying in Hiccup's head." Throk seemed irritated by the idea.

Astrid left Throk's side and started examining the wreckage. She made a circle around the car, not seeing anything at first. Upon taking a closer look at what used to be the backseat of the car, Astrid saw a damaged cellphone. She crouched down, pretending to be examining something, then scooped up the evidence and placed it in her pocket when she thought Throk wasn't looking.

"It's a shame." She said as she casually wandered back to Throk. "That he would die in a violent car accident right after declaring that he could fix Hiccup."

"It is. I thought I would finally be rid of him, and this assignment." He looked at

Astrid with a neutral gaze. "But you don't mind this assignment, do you?"

"I do my job without complaint." Astrid didn't like the accusing look in his eyes and glared back

"Hiccup trusts you, you know." Throk's face almost seemed to soften, the slightest bit, but Astrid knew that he didn't like Hiccup and so dismissed it.

"Why shouldn't he?" She defended herself.

"No reason, I just wanted to make sure you knew." Throk's expression hardened again.

"Right, well. I have a busy day tomorrow. So I'm going to go." Astrid started walking toward her car.

"I'll oversee the situation and file any evidence. That is, assuming that there is any evidence to gather. He could have just crashed." Throk said casually. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Astrid nodded slowly before continuing to her car. Throk watched her as she left, then went back to work.

—

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!

—

Northern Goshawk: Yes! I am returning to this story. I have quite a bit of this story plotted out, actually, but they take time to write. I was also focusing on some of my other stories for a while. And thank you, I'm glad you like the story!

CHSHicstrid: Hi there! I'm glad you like it! HTTYD and Chuck mix together very well! I am very excited for this story, I'm glad you are too!

Midsully: Haha, yeah, that would be an awesome moment to add into this story! Casey is my favorite character.

ChibiReads: Thank you, I'm glad to hear it!

Guest: Glad you like it! I hope you read and enjoy the new chapter!

MaverickMike: Chuck is a great show, and HTTYD fits so well with it. I decided on Throk for Casey, he seemed the right type, other than that he is generally more polite, I think. I haven't read all of the books though, so I don't know all of the characters.


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